Moths are attracted to light
by Salaka-Chan
Summary: After the accident in Beauclair, the country is upside down. The stricken beast must also recover and experience that moths are always attracted to the light. Dettlaff x OC Witcher post Blood and Wine
1. Prolog

Prologue "Reunion"

Rain clouds announced the approaching evening, while the sun still gave the last warm rays. The inhabitants of Francollarts slowly finished their work on the fields and retreated leisurely and full of fore fires into their cosy parlours, where they already smelled all kinds of tasty food. Of course Est Est or Erveluce had to be drunk to the meal. In the course of the evening candles were lit to light up the living areas and the shutters were closed until night finally fell and a peacefully silence stopped in the village.

If one left the village in eastern direction the path led into a dense mixed forest. None of the villagers dared to set foot in this habitat. This forest was cursed and supernatural beasts lived there. Beasts that seemed to come directly from a nightmare. Hellhounds, foglets, umbras and all sorts of other monstrosities. But that's not all! It has been rumored that a beast was mischievous in Beauclair. Righteous knights were murdered cold blooded and not even a witcher seems to be up to the task. After a meeting the beast could flee and the long lost sister of the queen was killed during the escape of the monster. Witnesses even claimed that the witcher had let the monster go! An affront!

But besides the gossiping village people, there were also a handful, who only perceived it in the background and continued to enjoy their comfortable lives to the fullest. This was mainly true for the men, but also for the young alchemist Livia Moreau. During the day, there was a constant hustle and bustle in her studio and the wishes of her customers covered a broad spectrum, while she mostly made and simmered the mixtures in the evenings. Next to her house in Francollarts, she also owned a small hut at the entrance to the cursed forest. Her alchemy skills were known throughout Toussaint and even from Beauclair she regularly received commissions, so it is not surprising that the inhabitants of Francollarts advised her several times to move her alchemy laboratory to the village or at least to the edge of the village. However, this had never been a serious option for the young woman. She loved to be on her own now and then, and this laboratory already belonged to her parents. In this laboratory her father had taught her how to distil potions and her mother showed her how to use the kettle and the ingredients properly. Now her parents tried to build up a second atelier in Kovir while she ran the business in Toussaint. She loved her job, not only because of brewing, but also because of some special customers.

She was lighting the first candle in the laboratory when a raven hammered against the window. Already on her way to the door a small smile lay on her libs.

"Regis! It's good to see you again. You have hardly changed your appearance and apparently still prefer to visit your friends in the evening".  
"In the late evening, most people prefer to spend time with their family. A useful peculiarity when you want to visit someone without attracting much attention. And especially at this moment it is very important that our conversation only remains within these walls."

Livia truncated and looked the man insistently in the eyes. "That sounds like a serious problem."  
"Indeed, and I would like to mention that I even brought this problem with me."  
The young woman raised her eyebrows in surprise and took a closer look at her friend. "You don't look cursed to me. I can't even see wounds at first glance."

"Thank you very much for your concern. My wounds have already healed completely on the way here. I would prefer to discuss everything else over a warm cup of tea. I once heard that it is human conventions when," Lavinia interrupted Regis and already turned to boiling water.  
"Yes, yes. I already know Regis. Tea calms the mind and relaxes the mood a little. But your way of expressing doesn't quite achieve the effect you want." The vampire had to smile. "Thank you for your hospitality."

When they both sat down at the small round table and the tea in the pot was pulled through, Regis began:  
"How long have we not seen each other? Was it four or five years?  
"For a vampire this time seems to be as short as a blink of an eye, but for us humans four years is a lot. I am now 21 and officially no longer a child. I am allowed to continue my parents' business independently and trade with others."  
"My dear Livia. I hope you will excuse my little joke. Of course I know it's been four years since we last saw each other. Unfortunately, I didn't make it in time for your birthday, which was exactly a week ago, but I still have a present for you."  
Regis pulled a small parcel out of his pocket and handed it to Livia. With widened eyes she took it and looked at the parcel silently for a while.  
"Is there something wrong with the gift?" Regis looked at Lavinia anxiously and bent slightly forward. He pushed his elbow slightly against the saucer of the cup.

"No! I haven't even opened it yet." Livia laughed and looked at the package devoutly. "It is only, how should I say ... a strange feeling as a person to get a birthday present from a higher vampire that is also beautifully wrapped." Calmly Regis let himself sink against the back of the chair again and smiled at her. "My dear Livia, you should know that I am very interested in human customs. Contrary to expectations especially the art of gift wrapping has given me a lot of joy. I just like to apologize for the slightly musty smell on the paper. The last weeks I spent in a crypt near Beauclair. Unfortunately it was not possible for me to visit you during this time."  
"A crypt? Sorry, but don't you think this kind of place is too clichéd? Did you also hang garlic at the entrance and scatter holy water?"

Regis cleared his throat and looked seriously at Livia. I'd love to continue talking to you about this subject and amuse myself, but unfortunately we have to slowly come to something more serious."  
Livia still held on to the wrapped gift and turned her eyes to Regis. He continued immediately. "You must have heard about the current events in Beauclair."

Livia put the parcel on the table and took a sip of tea. "Actually yes, but you should know my clientele as well. Most of it is gossip about the heroic deeds of the travelling knights, the upcoming knights tournament and that once again some wine cellar was infested by vermin. You have to imagine, recently a merchant came to Francollarts and told everyone that Beauclair was attacked overnight by a horde of vampires. Countless casualties are said to have taken place and the queen's personal knights were scared to death sitting in the castle. The culmination of this whole story is the mysterious appearance of the queen's older sister. She is said to have died in all the turmoil." Livia took another strong sip of the tea. "The people in Beauclair should be taken away the wine, so that they come to their senses again."  
Regis sat silently at the other end of the table and listened to Livia's summary, his head resting on his hand, with a frowned forehead. When she ended, he gave a heavy sigh and stood up. He moved slowly to the window and looked out into the young night.  
"Regis? Please tell me this was just some drunken merchant's nonsense."

"Those who fight with monsters may see that they do not become monsters. And when you look into an abyss for a long time, the abyss also looks into you. An extremely fitting quote from a human poet and philosopher. Maybe you know it?"

"Regis. I don't feel like philosophy now. You come to me late in the evening and greet me with the words that the coming conversation must not have any witnesses, that apparently a catastrophe has actually happened in Beauclair and that you have a problem with it. What exactly is going on here?"

Regis was still looking out the window.  
"That my dear, I would now like to explain to you in detail."  
The rain started and shouldn't stop the whole night.


	2. sphaera sensum

Chapter One " Sphaera Sensum"

"At court, highly respected knights who had already retired were murdered. The Duchess first tried to solve the cases with the help of her royal bodyguard. Unfortunately, hardly any evidence and traces were left at the crime scenes. The guards hardly made any progress with their investigations and at the beginning special attention was paid to discretion. However, the strategy did not work out and the series of murder continued. After the masses heard about the events, panic broke out among the population. Especially the poorer inhabitants did not feel well. At night nobody could be trusted anymore and the violence increased noticeably.

From this point on Anna-Henrietta decided to entrust an expert with this case. A witcher was summoned. It was nobody less than the white wolf, Geralt von Riva and at the same time he's a very good friend of mine.

During his investigations he quickly came to the conclusion that the series of murders could not be committed by a human being. The next attack was not long in coming and the witcher followed the alleged perpetrator. When they met it turned out that the culprit was a higher vampire. Until then I did not know that the perpetrator was a friend of mine. I interrupted the fight of the two opponents and tried to clarify the problem in the common dialogue. Unfortunately my friend is very impulsive and needs some time to clear his head again.

He withdrew and was untraceable for us. While I was searching for him, Gerald tried to get more information from the Duchess. Our joint investigation revealed that the vampire was being blackmailed by kidnappers who allegedly held his lover captive and would kill her if the demands were disregarded.

The Duchess also expressed the suspicion that her sister Syanna could be behind the attacks and thus also behind the blackmail at the same time. Her fears came true and my friend found that the blackmailer and victim were one and the same person. Syanna wanted to use him as a murder weapon to bring down her sister and rule Toussaint herself as Duchess. When her plan was uncovered by the witcher, my friend was , how can I say?" Regis cleared his throat briefly and drove his hand through his hair. "Displeasure is probably best fitting for it."

"For true Regis." Livia left her tea at the table and crossed her legs. Gloomy she looked out of the window and continued. "But one should know one's limits and not cross them, even if one is an extremely powerful being." She gave her visitor a stern look. "I can imagine the continuation of the story figuratively. You have a very prudent and at the same time mild nature Regis. Probably you tried to appease your friend. Unfortunately the attempt failed and Syanna was murdered by her disappointed lover." Regis wanted to return something, but was interrupted by Livia with a gesture of her hand. "Don't protect him Regis! He attacked Beauclair with his followers and injured and killed countless innocent people. A betrayal weighs heavily but does not justify such an act. Your friend is a monster. A beast that must be put in its place. I therefore ask you Regis," Livia stood up and looked down on her friend. "why did the witcher let him go? Isn't it his job to kill monsters?"

An oppressive silence reigned in the small room. The vampire fought visibly for his composure and clenched his hands to fists while tightening his jaw. Livia's eyes briefly reflected her fear of Regi's reaction, yet she remained steadfast and took no step back. His gaze was inscrutable to her. It was like looking a predator in the face. The feelings in it were hardly comprehensible to a human being.

"I can understand your reaction and yet I would like to ask you not to judge him directly. The witcher saw the same as I did in my friend and therefore let him go. He is only a victim of modern civilization. It drew him, just like me, to the people. You are fascinating creatures and no two are alike. While most of us only follow their animal drives, you impose rules on yourselves to achieve a harmonious coexistence. My friend was curious and probably too naive due to his natural instinct. Concealed power games, sneakiness and malice towards his own loved ones were alien to him. As a token of our friendship, I had given him a moth-shaped pendant.

Syanna was the sun for him. Unfortunately he never turned his eyes away from her and burned his wings. Now he has to decide how he wants to live his life. Either in complete darkness and loneliness or in the shining light of civilization. As his friend I cannot accept that he gives himself up and continues to live in seclusion. He must understand that not all living beings are like this. That the witcher has spared him was already the first step in the right direction."

Livia pressed her lips together and continued in a cool tone: "And as thanks for his insight he was sent to prison by the Duchess. Regis, I see that you care a lot about your friend, but you can't completely ignore his actions. You yourself described him as impulsive. What should keep him from committing such an act again?

Now Regis also stood up and came close to Livia. He bent down to her until only a few centimeters separated her faces. His cool breath embraced her like the first snow in winter. She could not turn her gaze away from him and remained motionless.

"His conscience."

After he turned away from her and stepped to the window she realized that she had forgotten to breathe. Slowly she sucked in the stuffy air and sat down on her chair again. The tea was already cold and tasted bitter. Just like the scolding of Regis. Her fingers played with themselves as if by themselves, while she did not dare to look up at her interlocutor.

The silence continued after she decided to make fresh tea. As the water slowly heated in the kettle, she added aromatic herbs. Immediately the freshly bitter lavender scent struck her. As the first bubbles rose in the water, she took the kettle from the fireplace.

Regis was still standing in front of the window looking into the darkness. Thick wafts of fog were running over the landscape and made the entrance to the forest appear even darker. She gave a heavy sigh and broke the silence. "Regis I... I am sorry. I didn't want our conversation to end like this. I understand that you care a lot about your friend.

"I owe him my life. Now it is up to me to do the same for him.

"What role should I play in this story?

Regis pointed to the package at the table. "Help me to bring him back to his senses. Show him that he is wrong and that the world is not as corrupt as he thinks it is. Not everyone burns himself in the light."

Livia took the parcel and examined it from all sides. It was very easy and she thought she could hear something rolling in it. After unpacking she held a glass ball in her hand. White smoke was inside it circulating slowly.

"It is called sphaera sensum. Translated in your language it means as much as {ball of emotions}. These balls are extracted in Nazair from the extremely rare mineral Markcooperite. With the help of three runesmiths the glyphs can be transferred into the mineral. Last but not least you need some blood from the person whose feelings should be visualized.

In contrast to the manufacturing process, its use is extremely simple. White swaths indicate a relaxed state. The person concerned, for example, sleeps. Red swaths indicate an extremely agitated state. The person may be aggressive or shocked. Grey, on the other hand, indicates an indecisive condition. The stronger the colours, the stronger the momentary emotion.

The white smoke in the sphaera sensum calms me down immensely. My friend seems to be at rest and has no nightmares."

Livia was shocked and the sphere fell out of her hand. The impact on the ground caused no noise, but on the surface of the sphere, filigree luminous patterns appeared. "Among other things, the glyphs prevent the sphaera sensum from breaking in a collision. If you wish, you as the owner can also determine that the displayed emotional world is only visible to you. For others it would only be a transparent glass ball. Thanks to the glyphs, the sphere has another useful function. The person concerned knows the position of the sphere owner at all times, as long as he is carrying the sphere with him, while the owner can call the person concerned using the sphaera sensum. All you have to do is enclose the sphere with one hand and call for it in the spirit."

Livia stared at her unpacked gift full of horror. When she wanted to complain about the gift she had received, Regis' haunting glance that kept her from doing so. She swallowed her doubts and picked up the item again.

"All right. I'll play along with your game for now. But if it gets too hot for me I stop immediately."

A light smile lay on Regi's lips and he bowed before her. "I thank you for your trust. I swear you won't regret it."

"That will show itself Regis, that will show itself."


	3. Immortal friend

Chapter 2 " Immortal friend"

The multiple patched duvet lay crumpled up on the floor next to the narrow solid wood bed. On the soft ground Livia sat cross-legged and studied various folios in the flickering candlelight. Meanwhile her forehead was wrinkled most of the time while she was reading with her left hand to her chin. The dusty edition [Regeneratio with the help of modern science] took up both thighs of her, while further copies on the subject of "physical recovery" were scattered within a tangible radius.

She tapped her lower lip with her index finger at regular intervals while she arrived at an extremely complex description of chemical compound properties. Her lips soundlessly copied the words from the book, while she wrote a parallel summary on a parchment sheet with routine speed. The homogeneous scratching of the nib on the parchment was the only sound in the studio.

As the first rays of sunlight shines through the window, Livia pushes the massive work of alchemy from her lap, pinching her eyes together tiredly. With her slender fingers she drove herself over the eyelids and massaged her temples with circular movements. Sighing, she rose and grabbed the cup on the small side table. Although the tea was already cold, it still spread a pleasantly aromatic scent. As she slowly descended the stairs, she inhaled the aroma in long trains and then tipped the cold drink into a potted plant.

Quickly she packed all the necessary utensils into a bag and left exhausted the house.

On her way to Francollarts, she remembered the last evening in her mind's eye.

"One of the most important characteristics of vampires is their exceptionally strong regenerative power. It allows any physical injury to be healed without subsequent damage. At this point, however, it should also be noted that this ability is pronounced differently in each individual.

The witcher let my friend go, but there was still an offensive argument in which Dettlaff were injured. Unfortunately this course was unavoidable, considering his hot temperament. Although my friend is in recovery, the complete regernation would take a lot of time. Therefore, I would like to ask you to make potions for him that will accelerate this process and inhibit his current pain."

While Regis described the situation of his friend, Livia constantly watched the little ball on the table. With a smooth movement she bent forward, took the simple teaspoon and knocked with it on the sphaera sensum. The glowing glyphs immediately covered the surface of the sphere. When the pattern disappeared, she repeated the process. Regis sat silently and watched the young woman with blatant curiosity.

If she felt his gaze, she did not let it show and continued to stare at the gift. "If vampires have such abnormal regeneration abilities, my potions should be obsolete for your friend."

Regis sank down slightly and his gaze clouded.

"You are right in principle, but my friend's injuries are not limited to conventional wounds. Another peculiarity of our species, in this case an extremely negative one, is the slow recovery of inflicted wounds that we receive from our peers. It is unforgivable to drink the blood of a higher vampire without his consent. The Code prohibits such confrontations."

"And yet you have attacked your friend." Livia turned her gaze from the sphere and glanced at Regis.

"Unfortunately, I saw no other way out. Geralt was able to defeat him in a duel, but Dettlaff possesses, even for vampires, an extraordinary regeneration. I was forced to do something, otherwise the vampire's attack on Beauclair would have continued and the witcher would have been too weak to fight Dettlaff again.

I fear that I have lost my friend's trust in this act and have little hope that this situation will change in the near future. Nevertheless, I must help him, for I owe him that. I have brought some folios which describe regeneration potions in detail. In some passages there are also additions from myself that should make it easier for you to make an effective potion. The potion is based on my blood. You have to find out the composition of the other components experimentally."

Livia rosed and walked quickly to the shelves next to the fireplace. The furniture was filled with old dusty books, alchemical accessories and some medical instruments. She looked for all the necessary utensils for the phlebotomy and returned to her friend.

Regis rolled up his sleeve silently and had Livia perform the procedure. Her fingers were cool and touched almost tenderly the pale skin of the vampire. When she found a clearly visible vein, she attached the knife and cut the necessary layers of skin. The blood poured intermittently into the container at the bottom. After some time Regis cleared his throat and continued: "That should be enough for the first attempts. You should either already have all the other ingredients or find them nearby."

The young woman took a white cloth and exerted this pressure on the open wound on Regi's arm. When a few seconds had passed, she wiped the affected area with the already blood-soaked cloth and then convinced herself that the wound had disappeared. The visitor looked at the red liquid in the transparent vial and seemed lost in thought.

The floor creaked as Livia rosed and stopped behind Regis. She gently laid her hands on her friend's shoulders and squeezed lightly. "You are no longer alone Regis. I will help you as far as I can. I will start with the potions tomorrow and see through your notes today. Together we'll patch up your friend again."

A light smile lay on the vampire's face and he grabbed one of her hands. "Thank you. Dettlaff is at the Trastamara hunting lodge and please don't worry, this building is neither cursed nor do monsters romp around in their environment. The presence of my friend keeps them at a distance." Livia had to smile. "Another positive quality of vampires I suppose?" "Dettlaff is not a loner. He has always preferred the company of lower vampires and has gathered a whole pack around him over the centuries. They don't leave his side." Livia's fingers were now digging harder into Regi's shoulders. "So that means the forest is full of vampires?" The visitor rose and looked at Livia piercingly. "They will not show themselves to you, you have my word on it. As soon as they smell you, they automatically notice Dettlaff's blood in the sphaera sensum."

"And that will keep them at a distance?"

"Yes."

Livia closed her eyes and gave a sigh. The fire crackled and sparks were flying through the room, occasionally leaving black soot marks on the floor. She was suddenly ripped from her mind as Regis pulled her in and hugged her tightly. "Please forgive me for asking such a favor of you. If there's anything I can help you with, don't hesitate to call me."

The person he spoke to nodded without a word and breathed in the fine herbal fragrance that surrounded Regis. When she wanted to look him in his face, he pressed her even tighter, bent forward and leaned his forehead against her shoulder. Before she could reply, she felt his tears seeping through her linen shirt. She gently returned the embrace and stroked her friend's back comforting.

"I will retire for today. If you need help with the preparation, you can find me at the Mère-Lachaiselongue cemetery.

"But that's right next to Beauclair!"

"Nobody there knows of my true identity and this cemetery is hardly visited by people. An excellent place to retreat and think in peace." Before Livia could raise further objections, her arms reached into the void and dark blue smoke slowly moved away from her and went through the house wall into the outside.

When she was in front of her house in Francollarts, she wondered about the time that had passed far too quickly. Normally the way to the village was longer. Why did moments take different lengths depending on the situation?

The lock clicked and the door opened squeaking. There was a pleasant atmosphere in the shop. Warm sunbeams shone through the windows and fell on the colourful utensils of the studio. There were even more books here than in her small hut on the edge of the forest. Colourful vials stood polished on the shelves and waited for their use. Herbs were dried in a small adjoining room and stored with other alchemical ingredients. The smell of the small chamber was overwhelming for the young woman.

She loved this room above all else. As a little girl she always grabbed one of her father's thickest books and retired to the small chamber. There she picked out the most beautiful flowers and placed them between the pages of the thick folio.

When her father had to look up recipes, he regularly found the dried flowers. Although he always rebuked her for not having these herbs to play with, there was always a little smile in the corners of his mouth.

She searched her stock for the ingredients needed for the regeneration potion and tied everything together into a small bundle. But before she left again, she made another detour into the closet and pulled out an Arenaria. She pulled one of the books from the shelf and stuck the flower between the pages.

With a smile she left the building and set off to brew healing potions for a vampire.

The sphaera sensum on the small table at her home turned dark red in the meantime.


	4. Solitude

I hope you will like it and I would be happy about feedback 3

your

Salaka-Chan 33

Chapter 3 Solitude

A small mound of earth lay before her feet and grew slowly but steadily. Livia had been standing in front of the forest for some time, weighing the pros and cons of the planned action, while she drew concentric circles in the sandy ground with her shoes. Since most of the lower vampires were nocturnal, she decided to enter the forest at dawn and quickly finish the delivery.

Some meters before the entrance she stopped and stayed there for a while. She convulsively searched for excuses to postpone the undertaking until the next day. Unfortunately, to her own annoyance, she had to admit to herself that all ideas were extremely lapidary and would not tolerate, let alone justify, a longer delay.

She gave a resigned sigh and climbed over her artwork into the forest.

The fog was already lifting and the occasional ray of sunshine shone through the foliage. The birds were chirping and the rustling in the undergrowth gave Livia the approximate position of the forest inhabitants. Watchful, the young woman looked at the habitat off the path, but she did not notice any significant changes. She felt neither observed nor in danger. The sphaera sensum was filled with thick grey clouds.

Due to her fast running pace the two small potion vials collided regularly and the red content sloshed up and down.

On her belt waistband was also a small dagger. The handle was made of wood and due to its age, the flower carvings on it were already largely worn off. She was well aware that in an emergency she would not be able to scratch the vampire with this little toothpick and yet it reassured her immensely to carry a weapon with her. She could not help but smile a little.

When was the last time she felt such fear? I

Her eyes became clouded as she pondered lost in thought. Subconsciously, she followed the path deeper and deeper into the forest and gave herself up to the melancholy of the past.

In her mind's eye different sceneries were taking place, but in one of them she paused.

She was then still a child of 5 years old. Her father sent her into the forest alone for the first time to look for dandelions. He told her the place, which was not far from the studio. The clearing was beautiful. The sun bathed the scenery in an almost holy light. Butterflies were flying from flower to flower, mushrooms were growing over the moss-covered tree stumps and even a rabbit was making some quick hooks across the meadow.

Laughing, she ran across the clearing, her fingertips touching the petals. As she settled down on a larger moss area, she glanced at her fingertips. Some pollen had gotten stuck on them and coloured her fingers yellow.

A loud crackling sound startled her.

Five men with heavily worn clothes stood behind her and stared at her with hungry eyes. Her breath accelerated and she was about to start running when one of them grabbed her ankle. Her upper body hit the ground hard and a branch cut her wrist slightly. Scattered drops of blood ran down and seeped into the loose forest floor. One of the men forced himself between her legs and turned her around. With his thick calloused hands he tampered with her trousers.

"Hey Macziek, I didn't know you were a child fucker, you old dog fucker." The men laughed and pushed themselves closer to the action. Pupils dilated and the breath reeked of cheap alcohol. The youngest of the group picked his nose and shortly afterwards put his hand under his waistband.

"We have time, my dearest drinking companion, why don't you start with her upper body? Show us her little tits! "After all, we all want to have a good time, don't we?" The other men grunted and slurred in agreement.

Macziek tore off the trousers of the kicking girl and laughed out loud. "As long as the cunt is tight, age doesn't matter. When I'm done with the little one, you can do what you want with her." The bawling of the men became louder and louder.

Livia's face was already covered with tears and her resistance became weaker and weaker. The grip around her thighs was like a vice and she felt the nails of the man pierce her flesh.

A hand wandered leisurely from her thigh to her upper body.

The last thing she remembered was her scream and the blood on her wrist, then everything went black.

Before her was the Trastamara estate. Dark, mystical and enchanted.

The jingling of spoons and the scattered carcasses of hellhounds and other monstrosities unknown to the young woman did not necessarily help the hunting lodge to a cosy atmosphere. The path to the house was overgrown with weeds and larger tree roots.

Slowly but steadily she continued her way until she stopped in front of the front door. The curtains on the lower floors were drawn, so that one could not look into the building.

After a deep breath she knocked on the big door. Dust came towards her.

When there was no reaction after some time, she tried another knock, but this time more energetically.

The distant chirping of the birds and the rustling of the leaves in the wind were the only audible sounds in the entire vicinity of the hunting lodge.

She clenched her delicate hands into fists and her facial features hardened. The crazy thought of simply leaving the potions outside the door and running home quickly sprouted in her, but her conscience was not on her mind.

Oh Regis... If I get out of this unscathed, it's going to be very expensive for you.

"I know you're there! You are free to avoid me, but I will enter the house and leave something for you." The young woman's heart seemed to be almost bursting. She felt every heartbeat like a wave in the sea. Her hand trembled slightly as she pushed the simple door handle down.

Darkness and stale air came towards Livia and it felt as if she was entering the seventh circle of hell. An oppressive silence reigned in the rooms while the loud staccato of her heartbeat echoed in her ears.

When she took her first step into the house, the floorboards underneath her creaked.

Her lips pressed into a narrow line, she continued on her way. At the first window she stopped and pushed the curtains aside. She saw countless particles of dust flying through the room, breaking the light of the sun. A glance into the room made her heart almost stop.

The spoon decoration stretched over almost the entire floor. The entire interior was dismantled with brute force and lay scattered on the floorboards. In the walls were huge claw marks.

She worked her way through the house window by window. When she entered the dining kitchen she stopped and sounded the situation. The furniture in this room was still intact and two bowls were lying on the floor. The contents spilled did not look appetizing. The dining table, however, should be sufficient as storage for the potions.

After a short clearing of her throat Livia spoke into the emptiness of the room:

" Regis has asked me to come here and brew you potions for a faster recovery. Well... Here they are." She pulled the two vials from her belt and held them up briefly to place them on the massive dining table.

"I am not here to hurt you, and I will leave right now."

Livia turned to walk when a figure dressed in black stood before her. Her heart stopped for two beats and a scream was heard. She took a step back and pushed against the table, causing one of the vials to crack loudly on the floor.

The red liquid spread between the two of them and the air was sucked in sharply opposite her.

Time seemed to stand still for a short moment.

Piercing blue eyes met emerald green.

The vampire stood in front of the young woman, claws out and fangs gleaming.

"A human can do me no harm."

Livia had to realize that he looked at her with the greatest disgust. Her throat did not make a sound while her gaze continued to focus on the monstrous figure. Her thoughts turned to potential conversation options. None, however, was a satisfactory solution for her.

"Why did Regis send you to me? I can smell his blood, yet he is not here." When Livia made no attempt to answer after a short time, the vampire growled.

Stuttering she replied:

" Regis, ..., he, ..." The vampire took a step towards her and growled, "Speak!"

"Régis, he's my friend.

He's afraid you'll regret his actions in Beauclair and wanted to give you some time to think."

His eyes narrowed. At a speed Livia's eyes could not keep up with, the vampire moved across the room only to smash a chair against the wall shortly afterwards.

The wood burst and the sharp-edged splinters flew through the room.

"And after Rhen..." the vampire cocked his jaws and gazed at his victim like a rabid predator

"And after her he sends a human to me? You lie, cheat and try to take advantage of every situation."

In the enumeration, an unexpected flame of anger glowed in Livia:

"Do you think it's right to pass on one individual's mistake to all the others? Besides, it's always easy to blame others."

"What are you getting at?" His voice had become a soft threatening hiss.

"It's also your fault for falling for her. Almost anyone would probably have seen through her act after a short time. Didn't you want to see the truth? Were her words and touches too sweet?"

The impact against the wall took all the air out of her lungs. Razor-sharp claws drilled into the wall and remained just beside her face.

"The only reason you're still alive is because you're supposedly a friend of Regis. "Get out of here and never come back. If you do, you'll regret it." The vampire disintegrated before her eyes and red mist spread through the window into the open air.

Livia collapsed trembling. Her eyes stared unbelievingly into the room until her lungs ached. She had completely forgotten to breathe.

She felt the grip of the dagger on her forearm and began to laugh hysterically.


	5. Timere ex hominibus

Chapter 5 "Timere ex hominibus

The first rays of sunshine pierced through the window and surrounded the silhouette of the young woman with a warm glow. Her lightly curled blonde hair nestled against her body and ended just above the hips. The white linen dress wrapped tightly around her upper body, while it was flared from the waist up.

Her usually vivid green eyes looked indifferent to the reflection. Her narrow face looked even more fragile because of the circles under her eyes, while her pale skin tone seemed almost unnatural. The pressed lips gave her a grim expression.

On the floorboards of her small hut were still working materials scattered around, the ones needed for the recovery potion. There were small red splashes around the kettle, which had already moved into the wood.

Blood.

Regis's blood.

So far she only knew one vampire. He was gentle and always enveloped her with a feeling of security during their conversations. His company was refreshingly different. He had the right answer to almost every question and despite his old age, he still possessed a childlike curiosity, especially in the field of science, which always wanted to be satisfied.

For 16 years she has known about his true nature, even though she was spared the sight of the teeth-breaking beast. He has neither a shadow nor a mirror image, and he can dematerialize his body and move around as a cloud of smoke.

He has internalized the customs of human society and gallantly participates in the events. Some people would probably say that Regis fits too much into the image of a thoughtful person of advanced age.

The transfigured dreamy views of this species were destroyed yesterday. Dettlaff was neither gentle nor restrained. He was driven by his emotions and had no consideration for his surroundings. This led to spontaneous and even worse, unpredictable actions on his part. With his monstrous appearance and behaviour, he made the impression on Livia that he was a wild animal who had only learned human language on a whim, but refused to actually use it and understand his counterpart. He could have confronted her in human form, but for some inexplicable reason he preferred to present the teeth-breaking beast.

The way back home went without further incidents, but Livia could not reconstruct the chronological course of the rest of the past day in her mind. The shock after the clash had done something to her, unfortunately she did not know to what extent this was relevant for her. How would she behave in a future meeting with Regis? How would he react to her failure?

The brooding was interrupted by a knock on the front door.

Gerard, a young farmer, stood at her doorstep and looked at her in horror. "By Majoran, Livia! You look awful. What have you been doing the last few days? Can I help you?" A tired smile stole onto the young alchemist's lips and she crossed her arms. "Charming as ever what? Unfortunately the last days were not really blessed with luck, but it has to go up again sometime, right? What brings you to me?"

"Unfortunately, nothing good either. The last two nights my cattle have been attacked in the meadow."

Livia's laughter made Gerard stop and blink.

"Gerard, I am neither a hunter nor a witcher. How could I help you?"

After an embarrassed clearing of his throat, the young man started again: "Well, I don't expect you to throw yourself at the monster with a sword, but maybe a potion would help."

"A potion?"

"Here, look at the claws. I found 'em between the carcasses. These are definitely not wolves, I tell ya! Maybe if it's a monster with a sensitive nose, a potion with a good smell might scare it away. My animals would be safe and I wouldn't have to deal with fuckin mutants. They don't seem to be much good any more anyway. Have you heard the latest from Beauclair?"

Livia rolled her eyes and tugged her sleeve briefly. "Please don't you start that too. Yes, I heard about the vampire attack, and no, I don't care any further."

"Oh really? My brother was there when it happened."

Livia opened her eyes: "For God's sake! How's Gaspard? Was he hurt? Do you need potions or anything else?"

Gerard lifted his arms and shook his head. "You know him, the old goat has more down to luck than skill, as always. But one thing he told me about it is quite interesting."

Livia went silent, but looked curiously at her conversation partner. He was visibly satisfied with the attention he had gained and continued in a lowered voice.

"He was hiding in the back alley when he saw a human figure walking along the main path. A black-haired man, middle-aged, with a hard face. Especially the black leather coat was striking. He walked quickly, but didn't give the impression of fleeing. And then..."

Livia only noticed from that moment on that she listened to Gerard's story with her mouth open and already knew which individual it was.

"BAMMMMMMMMMMMM!"

She cried out and made a leap to the back.

"Razor-sharp claws sprang from his hands! The human face turned into a grimace, and before Gaspard knew it, the wide corridor was littered with the bodies of the townspeople!"

Breathing was difficult for her and the certainty hit her like a strong blow to the stomach. They knew what the Beast of Beauclair looked like. The description was extremely apt, even if Dettlaff were to take on his human form, there would be a mass panic in the village, according to the case that he would dare to come out of his hiding place.

"That's not good at all," she chewed her thumbnail and was already completely lost in thought.

"Yes, isn't it? No one is safe from anything these days. Monsters posing as humans! Who'd have thought of that? We live in strange times. You should start looking for a man, Livia. It's easier to handle disasters and bad times together than alone." He walked up to her and looked at her intensely.

The blonde-haired woman blinked briefly and snapped her middle finger against his forehead.

"Tstststs Gerard, Gerard, what am I going to do with you? You'll never give up, will you?"

The young man gave a resigned sigh. "No. Most people in the village already think I'm crazy for it. Nevertheless I will not give up so quickly! Imagine what it would be like with us! Me with my animal farming and you with your alchemy. We'd be the richest people in the area and we could go far!"

The smile did not reach her eyes as she replied to Gerard:

"Money isn't everything. I" she was interrupted by her conversation partner.

"Of course it's not everything! You're also beautiful and, by the way, my appearance is quite popular with the other single women."

Livia made a face. "Well, with all the choices, you don't have to put up with me anymore. Shall I make you a potion with a nice smell?"

A small money pouch flew towards her and Gerard made his way back to the village without another word.

When she was alone in the studio, she lay down powerless on a chair. For her taste, there were too many events within the short time span. Old friends, vampires, annoying admirers and the running of the shop, slowly demanded their price. She opened the next best bottle of wine, saved the glass and drank directly from it. After a while the gentle waves of intoxication enveloped her and the room became blurred before her eyes.

The next morning was rung in by a piercing crow and unspeakable headaches. Before making the potion, Livia wanted to see the situation for herself. At a leisurely pace she put on wide trousers and a chemise.

Due to her slender figure, she lacked female curves, which could make an observer from far away think she is a boy. She packed in her bag a drinking tube, her knife and a small piece of coal with parchment. As she left the house, her eyes fell on the sphera sensum on the windowsill. Her gaze became clouded at the sight of the grey colour. "What a bore." During her small drinking binge, she had searched various books for the meaning of color theory, but only with moderate success. With a few exceptions, the meanings were different. In principle, you could interpret what you wanted into any color, just as it is in art. With one quick movement she put the ball in one of her trouser pockets and left the house.

In Francollarts, she was approached by most of the villigers, because of her tired appearance. The young woman used this fact to her advantage to get more information about the beast near the village. Unfortunately, most of them did not know anything about it and the rest only parroted the story of Gerard. She stocked up with some bread and cheese in the inn and set off for the fields.

A gentle breeze passed through the sunflower fields and made the flowers sway in a gentle rhythm, while the sun's rays pleasantly warmed the free parts of her skin. Livia relatively quickly dismissed the idea of going to see Regis, for fear of his reaction, and especially hers. In any case, it was not a particularly uplifting thought to visit an immortal friend at the cemetery.

The crowing of a pheasant brought her back to reality and the rest of the way to Gerard's fields she tried to concentrate entirely on the warming sunrays.

She was almost at her destination when a strong smell of decay hit her. The cows were at the other end of the field, while in the middle was a fresh carcass. The alchemist wrinkled her eyebrows and approached it leisurely, telling herself that this stench at least drove away her hangover.

As she stood in front of the carcass, everything suddenly went pretty fast. She noticed with horror the huge holes in the lower part of the dead animal, when a rustling could be heard next to her. Unfortunately, the sound was all too familiar to her and without a second thought, she threw herself into the adjacent sunflower field, hitting her hook. Some of the archespore acid landed on her sleeve, which slowly began to disintegrate. As she fled, she tore off her sleeve and threw the garment carelessly to the ground. Fortunately for her, the linen fabric was a little thicker, so her skin had not come into contact with the corrosive liquid. The attacker, however, remained stubborn and pursued her to the edge of the forest.

Shortly after she reached the forest, she turned around to see if the pursuer had given up hunting. However, she did not come to analyse, as the ground under her feet was missing when she continued her run. She had miscalculated during the race and was already deeper in the forest than she had initially assumed. With her upper body first she hit the steep and rocky terrain and rolled down the remaining slope.

During the fall she tried to protect her head with her arms, which she unfortunately only succeeded moderately. When she reached the bottom she lay motionless and tried not to cry out loud. Every fiber of her body was burning and she felt her blood running hot down her bare arm.

She concentrated on taking long, strong breaths to calm herself. It wasn't the first time she encountered an Archespore, but so far things have always gone smoothly for her. So far.

Slowly she turned on her back and started giggling. The giggling soon gave way to a loud laugh and this eventually turned from occasional sobbing to crying. "Bloody hell! What's been going wrong these last few days? I don't want any more of this!" A bloodcurdling scream escaped her and she hit the ground with her clenched fist.

She didn't know how much time had passed until she had calmed down again. Silently, she was still lying on the ground, looking through the dense canopy of leaves at the blue sky. The clouds moved slowly through her field of vision and in the distance she heard some birds chirping.

As she sat up, a painful groaning escaped her. Carefully she moved all her limbs and performed a quick health check. "Nothing broken, so far so good."

With great effort she rose and continued walking limping into the forest. Sooner or later she should come across a path and then the way home was no longer a problem. But despite the midday sun it was quite gloomy in the forest, which didn't necessarily help to improve her mood. The rough terrain did not do her aching limbs any favours and after a very short time she had to take a break. A glance into her bag told her that the water bag had burst and made coal and parchment unusable. Resigned, she simply pulled out her knife and fastened it to her belt.

In the distance she heard the sound of water and decided to get something to drink when she noticed huge footprints on the ground. The size of the footprints immediately made her heart beat faster and the cow came to her mind again. With her first thought she realized that the carcass in the field was fresh and untouched except for the fatal wound on the belly, as far as she could judge by the brief sight, while her second thought led to her screaming after the fall. If this creature was still around, it knew she was in the woods, and thanks to her cumbersome gait she must have had the effect of an elephant in a china shop on all creatures in the immediate vicinity.

Her breathing accelerated and her eyes widened. There was only one thought in her head:

Escape.

Quick escape.

As she tried to get up again, she heard the loud cracking and breaking of woods. Whatever it was, it was fast and she knew instinctively that she would not stand a chance against this creature.

Hectically she looked in all directions to find a suitable hiding place. A lush ivy blanket along the forest floor seemed to be the best choice. With clenched teeth she crawled under the plant layer and tried to push herself close to the ground. Only a fraction of a second later, the most powerful monster Livia had ever seen appeared.

A kind of deer, with three bestial eyes, huge antlers and paws bigger than her upper body. She was scared. Scared to death.

This was not a monster like a Archespore, which you could shake off at a fast walking pace. Likewise, the plant life had dentures not nearly as large as this monstrosity.

In her mind she went through all the options she could think of in a state of shock. Climbing a tree was not too clever. Before she could find a suitable tree, the deer would have already torn her to pieces. To call for help would be the same as to commit suicide. To continue to stay under the plant cover would only work if the ivy neutralized her smell. Probably she would normally get away with this strategy, but she had hurt herself when she fell and her blood was still sticking to her forearm and only the Gods know what other tracks she had laid with it.

The monster stopped at their resting place and tried to take in her scent. In blind panic, individual muscles strands of the young woman began to tremble. A loud snort made her collapse and the realization that her scent was being taken in by the beast robbed her of her last nerve. She did not wait any longer and sprinted off. The start of her escape proved to be a stroke of luck.

Her opponent was extremely agile and started to jump. She owed her life to the fact that she got stuck on one of the ivy vines and fell unplanned in the opposite direction.

The next moment passed for her like in slow motion. While she picked herself up and tried to sprint again, she noticed the sphera sensum lying on the ground in front of her. Quickly she grabbed it and ran towards the sound of the water. The cold surface of the sphere stood in stark contrast to the elevated temperature of her body. Her slender fingers closed even tighter around the object, so that her knuckles on her fingers turned white and began to hurt.

While she stumbled more through the dense vegetation than she ran, her hunter broke through it with ease and before she knew it, the vegetation stopped and she found herself in an open field. The escape route to her left was blocked by a wide river, so that further escape was only possible to the right, because in front of her there was an extremely deep abyss with a small waterfall nestling against it.

Her courage faded and when she stumbled over a root while looking back she remained motionless on the ground. She squeezed her eyes tightly and hoped for a quick and painless end, but the expected impact failed to happen. Instead, she heard a strange sound that reminded her of a parchment sheet tearing.

When she opened her eyes, Dettlaff stood with his back turned, as he had already done in the hunting lodge in vampiric form, and in front of him her pursuer, who had been cut in two, lay motionless on the ground.

Only at this second did the function of the sphera sensum come back to her mind. Her eyes widened as she realized what had just happened.

Hectically she rose and started: "I am... I am sorry! This was not meant to happen!" The vampire turned to her and looked at her coldly with his light blue eyes, the pupils reduced to narrow slits. His vampire form did not necessarily help to calm her mind. She raised her hands in appeasement, with his gaze caught on her hand with the sphera sensum.

"I stumbled and lost the sphera sensum. When I picked it up, I didn't think about putting it back in my pocket on my further escape. Please, I'm... I'm sorry." He took a step towards her and wanted to reply, when her legs finally gave out and she stumbled backwards. The eyes of the vampire widened as she tried to reach out to him.

Until now, Livia only knew the case of fall from a low height, such as chair on which you stand to dig out a rarely used book from a shelf and then you falling on the floor. The free fall could not be compared to anything that had happened before. The sounds of the roaring waterfall, the forest and her own scream did not reach her ears. There was complete silence around her, while the feeling of falling took over her body.

A red cloud surrounded her and shortly afterwards her body was firmly enclosed by two arms. The following impact ended her temporary deafness and brought her back to the present. Her rescuer never let go of her and pulled her to the sandbank where the water was only knee-high. When he finally let go of her, Livia let herself fall and sat trembling in the clear water.

The man bent down to her and looked at her intensely: "How bad are your injuries? Can you stand up?"

She looked at her rescuer and had to think of Gerard's description of the catastrophic events. Striking coat, black hair and hard features, but the now blue-grey eyes caught her eye most of all. They seemed tense and restless. The sudden pressure on her thigh caused her to avert her gaze and look for the cause. Miraculously, the sphera sensum had not been driven downstream by the current. Livia blinked several times because of the colour inside the sphere and fished it out of the water with shaky movements.

She lifted the object towards her counterpart and continued looking at it. With one blow she felt calm and balanced and had to think about the evening with Regis.

"Regis, I can see that you care a lot about your friend, but you cannot completely ignore his actions. "You yourself described him as impulsive. " What could stop him from committing such an act again?"

Now Regis got up too and approached Livia. He bent down to her until only a few inches separated their faces. His cool breath enveloped her like the first snow in winter. She could not take her eyes off him and remained motionless.

"His conscience."

Now she returned her gaze and spoke in a soft voice: "You are afraid. You've been afraid of me from the beginning."

Dettlaff retreated and pressed his lips together before he could no longer stand her gaze and lowered his head. "Even if I pretend to be human, it doesn't mean I understand what's going on inside of you. I cannot understand what you think or feel, even though I use your language. We are visually the same at first sight and yet so different."

Livia didn't have to think long about the following words: "You have neither shadow nor reflection, and you also possess extremely powerful powers. It may be that our cultures are very different, but we all have feelings. Some more and some less pronounced. Regis asked me to brew you the potions for a faster recovery, but I think he knew from the beginning that you would need something else much more.

She reached out her hand to him, "Let's be friends."


	6. Rhenawedd

Chapter 5 Rhenawedd

Dettlaff frowned and mistrustfully narrowed his eyes. "What is this? Why do you want to be friends with me?"

"Well...", the young woman hesitated and wanted to punch herself for her last sentence. The tensed attitude of her counterpart was clearly noticeable and Livia bit her lower lip briefly. "How shall I say, I think there is simply no plausible reason for the offer."

The vampire remained in his defensive stare and kept looking at the young woman piercingly. Livia could literally feel his inner struggle. The striking blue eyes reflected an honesty that Livia had previously only known from small children. Neither a spark of malice nor wickedness seemed to hide in them, while his lips were pressed tightly together. Gradually she began to understand Regis's point of view, and yet she could not ignore the past actions of this being.

A small sigh echoed from her as she finally started again: " Regis warned me about your lack of social skills, but I didn't think it was so ... serious." After a short pause for thought she continued. "Look, to see someone as an enemy, you need a reason. For example, someone has done something to me that makes me feel hurt or even attacked, while there is no real need for a rational cause for friendship. One feels attracted to the other person, feels gratitude or has a personal interest in getting to know the person."

Meanwhile, Defflaff listened to her in silence with visibly great interest.

"And which of these reasons applies to you now?"

Livia had to blink briefly after his reply. "We both have a mutual friend. I want that friend to be happy, so I'm helping him. His descriptions of you were extremely positive and he asked me to get a picture of you by myself. Besides, you just saved my life. I don't know what value life has for an immortal, but it has great weight for me."

"You want to be friends with me because of Regis and because you are in my debt?"

Livia stared at the man in disbelief and did not know what to say in response. The following silence was extremely unpleasant and Livia struggled with herself. She hardly noticed her physical reaction to the cold water in which she continued to kneel. Her still outstretched hand began to tremble while some parts of her skin turned slightly white next to the noticeable goose bumps.

Her "conversation partner" did not miss this fact. His body language continued to reflect his insecurity, yet he slowly and almost tenderly grasped her hand and his gaze seemed slightly worried besides the continuing tension.

"The water seems too cold for you. I will take you home so you can rest."

Although both were completely soaked, Livia noticed that the vampire's hand was still warm. This fact made her smile a little, because until now she always noticed during meetings with Regis that he had a slightly cooler body temperature than her when she hugged him or shook his hand. Vampires generally seemed to have a slightly lower body temperature than humans, but it seems to be more stable.

Dettlaff didn't miss the little smile and interpreted it as happiness about the help he provided. He could not get out of the state of confusion around her presence. Her statements and her behaviour made no sense to him, which made it all the more difficult for him to react appropriately. His Rhena was so far the only human being he had close contact with.

~ Metinna 1274 ~

"Is this seat taken?"

The tavern was bursting with people and the waitresses had their hands full serving each guest. There was bawling and drinking in the surrounding places, others played cards and entered with high stakes. Mostly he watched the people from a distance. They fascinated him and a wondrous glow seemed to surround these beings. Despite their mortality, they were full of life and action. They did not waste any thought on their imminent death and brought it about even faster with wars or already smaller fights. What a short-sighted way of thinking!

But a bright child's laugh, a joyful cheer when two acquaintances meet again after a supposedly long time or lovers who only have eyes for their partner touched Dettlaff's heart. He himself could not have had such experiences, but it was enough for him to absorb the scenes from a distance as a silent observer. This culture was the complete opposite of his.

Higher vampires are very different. Some live in complete seclusion as hermits, others mingle with humans or there are those like him who are attracted to the lower ones of his kind. The typical pack behaviour calms one down and the community never lets the individual down. There are clear structures, making words unnecessary. Only the actions speak for themselves.

Despite his membership in the pack, his curiosity towards mortal beings increased over the centuries. In Defflaff's eyes, the use of language to communicate with his counterpart was extremely convenient. Misunderstandings could thus be avoided. It surprised him that humans were easy to distinguish. Good and evil. Black and white.

"No."

The black-haired woman was dressed like a run-down vagabond, but her movements had something noble about them. Her gray eyes remained fixed on him, while with a nod to the waitress she signaled to go get a drink. Her slightly protruding chin and full lips were particularly striking. In combination with her smile, she looked extremely smart and sympathetic.

"Thank you very much. It shouldn't come as a surprise anymore that it is quite busy here in the evening, and yet I regularly get lost here. But I have never seen you here before.

What would bring a nobleman to this dump?" The smile remained on her lips and Dettlaff noticed that he liked the unrestricted attention of a human being.

"Excuse me. I'm not a nobleman, just a simple man passing through." One of her eyebrows rose while she bent over the table and supported her head on her hands. "Soso. Then this could be a most interesting evening. As travellers, we can tell each other about our adventures and future destinations." The vampire was more than overtaxed by the current situation. On the one hand he wanted to have a conversation, but this directness, especially with a woman, was foreign to him.

When the waitress came with the requested drink, she was stopped by the woman. "I'd like the todays special for both of us." Dettlaff wanted to reply something, but remained silent when the black-haired woman raised her hand firmly. After the waitress had disappeared into the turmoil again, his table partner turned to him again. "My name is Rhenawedd. How may I address you?"

"Dettlaff."

Rhenawedd smiled warmly at him and raised the glass. "For an entertaining evening Dettlaff." He could not define the feeling that was budding in him. It was strange to him and the moment seemed too surreal for him to actually take place. Optically he could adapt to people well, but subconsciously they had to feel his true nature, because most of the time they avoided him and did not pay any further attention to him, which was to his advantage in his role as a silent observer.

With pressed lips he raised his glass and then set about drinking.

"You do not seem to be a man of many words." Her gaze was directed only at him and he felt completely at her mercy. Her presence was marked by graceful dominance, while her femininity further enhanced her strong appearance. A spark of discomfort sprouted in him and urged him to leave the restaurant, but a thought that could not be described as rational kept him at the table with Rhenawedd. He liked the melodious name, as well as her well-proportioned body, her attention to him and her slim fingers.

"No. I travel a lot and hardly ever get a chance to talk to anyone."

When the waitress came with the meal, Dettlaff exhaled briefly with relief. The interruption gave him time to think about how to continue the conversation without attracting any more attention. This moment, however, was to have an irrevocable effect on his life, for when he was distracted he noticed too late that the waitress had left the bare silver cutlery on his side for both persons. Subconsciously he grabbed one of the enclosed napkins and lifted the cutlery to Rhenawedd.

She narrowed her eyes briefly and then reached for the cutlery. "Thank you. Please help yourself. I can't handle this amount of food by myself."

Dettlaff looked at her before he grabbed his silverware and turned to the meal. After a while the woman resumed the conversation and told him about her travels and special events. He listened to her in silence for the most part and rarely made any comments. Despite the lively tumult around her, the room seemed to be filled exclusively by the presence of this woman. The candles immersed the room in a warm light and the shadows of the visitors danced merrily on the walls.

After the plate was empty, the vampire took the word. "I thank you for this nice conversation. Unfortunately I have to move on now. Your food and drink are on me." With that he rose and put some coins on the table.

Leaving the restaurant, he noticed that her smell continued to haunt him. Although the humans seemed to be interesting beings to him, they were foolish and simple-minded to the same degree. What did she hope to gain from this persecution? Determined, he turned into a desolate side street and dematerialized into a dark red cloud. After she had also entered the dark corridor and realized that it was empty, she paused. Her confident voice echoed into the darkness: "I know that you are here. Come out! The conversation is not over for me yet. There's one more thing I have to ask you."

He had let himself be drawn in long enough by her pushy ways. Now, if he wanted to get rid of her for good, this was an appropriate time. Two steps away from her, he appeared in his vampiric form and bare his teeth. "Get out of here or I'll kill you!" Her eyes widened for a moment before a confident smile appeared on her lips. "Hey, why so cold? You couldn't get enough of my stories at the restaurant." She took a step towards him and crossed her arms confidently.

Dettlaff had not considered that this could happen and was completely baffled. This woman was unlike any human being he had ever seen before. Here he was standing in front of her and instead of fleeing from him she stepped even closer to the monster, which in turn retreated from her. "Why don't you run away from me?" This caused Rhenawedd to blink briefly and then laugh out loud. "This question alone is just too funny. A monster that mingles with people and then tries to keep its a distance in such an idiotic way. Please forgive me, but unlike your horrible appearance, your behavior is simply childish."

The vampire stood undecidedly before her and did not know how to respond to this harsh scolding. Claws out, long pointed teeth and the beastly face didn't seem to impress her very much. Her grey eyes did not let go of him and she bit her lower lip slightly. "Nevertheless you are extremely interesting. I would like to get to know you better and maybe I can teach you a thing or two about dealing with people. What do you think about that? We both benefit from it."

Driven by curiosity, he accepted her suggestion. They met several times and talked about mostly trivial topics. Nevertheless, he noticed that with time his excitement of another meeting grew steadily. Despite the knowledge of his true nature, she treated him as one of her own. When he annoyed her, she rebuked him, when he said the wrong things, she improved him and when he was at a loss during a conversation, she encouraged him. He liked her full attention and the subtle approaches. It didn't matter that she always got her way and mostly followed her interests. He gladly gave in and changed his role as observer to become her protector. At that time he did not yet understand the fact that Rhenawedd was shunned by many. In his eyes she was a perfect being who knew what it wanted. She did not even stop at making friends with a monster and spending her precious time with him.

After a short time another aspect in her friendship was added. ~~~

She invited him to her place for dinner in the evening. She was aware of the fact that he did not need meals. Yet she regularly offered him food and shared with him. The conversation that evening, however, took a different course than usual. She spoke only briefly about her day and urged him to finish his stories quickly. He was much more surprised by the fact that she wanted to know more about his kind without warning.

What is a vampire capable of? Helps fire or holy water when a vampire attacks and after a bite you become an vampire being yourself. Why can he walk through the city in broad daylight and change his shape How big is his pack and what role does he play in it?

They had already finished eating, but her questions continued. He was pleased by her seemingly open interest in his species and he willingly told her everything she wanted to know. After some time her thirst for knowledge seemed to be satisfied for now at least and since it was already late at night he wanted to give her time to rest. When he got up, she also got up and walked around the table, dragging her hand lightly over the wood, to him. Their bodies were close together and almost touched each other so that he could feel her warmth.

Dettlaff looked into the most beautiful pair of eyes he had ever seen, as she raised her right hand and stroked his cheek gently. This kind of tenderness was foreign to him and he closed his eyes to capture this touch with every fibre of his body. Shortly afterwards he felt her second hand on the other side as well.

When he opened his eyes again, she smiled at him and pulled him down to her for a demanding kiss. He wrapped his arms around her body while she pressed him against the table. With her touches and caresses, she made it clear to him what it was all about and he agreed only too readily. A slight smile was stealing to his lips, as she was not only a very demanding personality in everyday life, but apparently also in sexual terms. Her strength and determination were the main qualities that impressed him most and led him to adore her. She had to be aware of her physical inferiority to him and yet she took control with an impressive naturalness.

He wanted to lift her up and carry her to her sleeping chamber when she struck his hand decisively. "I do not need a prince to carry me, but a man who can give me what I need."

A demanding growl left his throat as he turned the tables, pressed her down hard on the desk and positioned himself between her legs. He tore off her clothes and ran his hands possessively over her body. Rhenawedd seemed to enjoy this lack of restraint, for her eyes flashed at him confident of victory and her mouth curled up into a smile. "I belong to you as you belong to me, body and soul." He took this statement as a confession of love, which only further inflamed his animal instincts.

The playful battle for power continued until sunrise. Lying side by side in bed, he looked at his beloved, who lay on her back, panting heavily. "Rhena, please forgive me, I should have stopped much earlier." His voice was still filled with lust, but his guilty conscience was reflected in his eyes. He wanted to caress her tenderly as she raised her hand. "Please, Dettlaff, why do you always want to caress and pet me. Did you copy this from other couples? This is ridiculous. You don't have to worry about me. I can take it. Even a furious vampire who lunges at his alleged victim and tries to devour him." She looked at him seductively.

This was the first time that her dominance gave his heart a painful sting. He didn't want to mate with her as he would with one of his own kind. He wanted to show her that she was important to him and that he would do anything to protect her smile. He wanted to be as close to her as possible on a human level. He wanted to have her full attention forever.

The young woman in his arms had absolutely nothing in common with Rhena, both visually and, at first glance, in terms of character. Her appearance was neither dominant nor decisive, although she had previously appeared quite self-confident at the river, despite her fear. It did not take long before she collapsed next to him powerlessly on the way back. Her lips were blue and her skin was cold.

It would be extremely foolish of him to consider her a good person based on first impressions. He had learned from the mistake he had made and would not rush to trust anyone again, especially if it was a human being. Language was not only a medium to communicate his thoughts, but also a means to influence others. One could lie, cheat and use power games.

He had had enough of humans. He was tired of company. He wanted to be on his own, far away from any civilization and lead a quiet lifestyle.

Then why was he still standing in her house?

He could tell which house was hers by the smell of her. When he arrived there he undressed her and covered her in her bed with all the blankets he could find in her household. Finally he lit a fire and stood in front of her again and watched her.

The trembling of her body was already slowly subsiding and he could hear her steady regular heartbeat. She looked extremely fragile to him. In contrast to Rhena, she seemed to be afraid of him as well, which did not stop her from confronting him. Why was she friends with Regis? What connected the two that the vampire trusted her so far and sent her to him with a potion.

Inside, a real war was brewing within him. On the one hand, the reason, which called for a retreat and on the other hand the curiosity, which made him stay. The latter had brought him only pain and sadness with Rhena. He walked to the window and looked melancholically towards the sunset.


	7. sterfelijk wezen

"sterfelijk wezen"

A scorching heat emanated from her body and clouded her mind. The events of the last days, hardly more than thin threads she could not grasp, vanished into the farthest corners of her subconscious. The result was a confused jumble of memories to which she could not attribute time, place or importance.

The departure of her parents, various popular festivals, the lessons with her father, the bookshelf in the shop with the most wondrous folios, the meeting with Regis, the incident 16 years ago, the Trastamara hunting lodge and the wondrous encounters with the Beauclair beast.

On the banks of the river she had seen his human face for the first time and was more than surprised by his well-groomed appearance. The tense posture was reflected in his face, with his bright blue eyes always fixed on her. It is said in common parlance that eyes are the mirror of the soul, but never before had she been so sure of the truth of this popular wisdom as when she saw these eyes.

His lips pressed tightly together, the facial expression seemed quite reduced, but in his eyes a war was raging, which could best be described with the words "Sturm und Drang". A suffering being, which did not know where it belonged. It possesses a home among its own kind and still feels attracted by the diversity of mankind. An emotional individual, who has to restrain himself in the presence of humans, taking care not to reveal his true nature. Curiosity paired with fear of a repulsive reaction towards him. The certainty that even the smallest mistake will neither be forgiven nor forgotten. A permanent sword of Damocles, which can hardly be ignored and can only be mastered with an incomparable strength of will. Livia came to the conclusion that she could only feel one thing for the beast. Pity.

The deed committed could not be approved of in any case, but considering his situation and the tendency to strong emotions, his action was at least to some extent comprehensible.

She was torn from her dozing state when something cold lay on her forehead. With great effort she tried to return to reality and opened her eyes. Her vision was blurred and thanks to the fact that it was already dark, she could only make out shadowy, black-grey color gradients.

She blinked a few times before a chair creaked and the flame of a candle enveloped the immediate surroundings in a soft yellow light. The vampire sat down again on the chair next to her bed and looked at her with sincere concern. Her throat was dry as dust and when she opened her lips to say something, little more than a pathetic rattle came out. Her counterpart leaned forward so that their faces were close together and put one hand on her forehead. Only now did it dawn on her that the laying of the rag soaked with cold water must have woken her.

He dipped the cloth into a bowl of water that stood on the ground, wrung it out and laid it back on her forehead. As he pulled his hand back, she reached for it and interlocked her fingers with his. She could actually feel the increasing nervousness in him and squeezed harder for confirmation. Livia swallowed with the greatest effort and produced a broken "Thank you".

It seemed as if the vampire had held his breath before he timidly returned the touch and handed her a glass of water. "How are you? Can I get you something to ease the pain?"

Livia blinked and tried to sort her thoughts while trying to empty the glass in one go and of course swallowed immediately. The coughing fit burned like fire in her throat and she drank the rest of the glass.

"I've been better, but in consideration of the recent events, I guess I should consider myself lucky to be alive."

The vampire pulled his eyebrows together and continued in a subdued voice. "It was rather careless of you to enter the forest. Had you not used the sphera sensum, you would now be dead." Livia raised an eyebrow in surprise. Did she hear an accusation in his deep voice? Did he speak to her almost in a whisper to restrain himself?

After a short break she started. "Downstairs in the workshop is a large desk with various bottles. One of them is filled with a light blue liquid and another one next to the feather pen with red. I would be very grateful if you would bring me both."

The vampire stood up silently and was about to leave when he was stopped by Livia. " Wait."

She cleared her throat embarrassed and continued unsteadily.

"So far it hasn't turned out that we introduce ourselves. My name is Livia Moreau. How may I call you?"

"Dettlaff. Dettlaff van der Eretein," the vampire turned away and went downstairs.

As he stood before her with a serious expression and the two potions, the alchemist reached for the vial with the blue tincture. A "plop" broke the silence as she pulled out the cork and tried to start drinking immediately. Her lying position made the task more difficult, but this did not escape Dettlaff's attentive gaze. With a smooth movement he placed his hand under her head and lifted it slightly. The touch caused Livia to stop thinking for a moment before she started drinking again.

The pain-relieving effect was immediate, after which she let herself sink back into her bed with her eyes closed and relieved.

A tiny smile was on her lips before she turned back to Dettlaff and gave a resigned sigh. "It should be my job to look after you, not the other way around."

Her eyes widened in disbelief as her counterpart timidly returned her smile.

"I took the remaining potion after our first meeting. As you can see, I can now easily take my human form again."

The alchemist examined the black-haired man and seemed to make an extremely puzzled face. Still holding the bottle with the red liquid, the vampire sat down again on the chair next to Livia's bed and looked at her with his blue eyes piercingly.

"If you wish, you may ask me questions about my nature. I will try to answer them as clearly as I can."

The young woman blinked in surprise. "Thank you. But the conversation need not be one-sided. You can ask me questions as well, of course." After the vampire nodded in agreement, she continued. "Van der Eretein, that sounds a lot like a title of nobility. Do you own land?"

The little smile remained, but his eyes took on a melancholy expression. "I have no last name. To make up for this and to be less conspicuous among you people, I merely added the name of my home, Eretein." Livia noticed now his strong Nazair accent and nodded affirmatively.

"An interesting choice of name." She pointed to the vial in his hand and looked at him questioningly. "You should take the potion. I doubt the incident in the woods has contributed much to your recovery."

"Regis's blood is in it."

Thoughtful wrinkles formed on Livia's forehead and she cleared her throat embarrassed. "I thought vampires had no problem with blood?"

Dettlaff laughed softly, so that his shoulders trembled slightly. "Neither did we. But blood has an extremely intoxicating effect on us. Especially if you stop drinking suddenly after a true bloodlust."

"You mean what happened in Beauclair."

This was not a question, but more a statement of the young woman and the vampire nodded. She closed her eyes and went over the potential further questions in her mind. She wanted to know more about him, but not to appear too intrusive.

"I think that I have already tested my luck sufficiently in the last few days. I can therefore easily go without a thirsty vampire. Nevertheless, it wouldn't hurt if you took it to the Trastamara Mansion later on. After all, it was primarily my task to help you and not", she looked down at herself "the other way round."

"Thank you. I appreciate your concern."

After a fairly long pause Dettlaff continued. "How did you meet Regis?"

Livia's gaze darkened as she told of the terrible event 16 years ago. "After regaining consciousness, Regis bent over me slightly and tended to my wounds. However, as a result of the rough touching of the men, I was in shock and assumed that he wanted to continue where my consciousness had previously disappeared. I reached for the next stone and threw it with a scream against his head. When he recoiled in shock I noticed the small laceration on his forehead.

Ready to defend myself further, I reached for the next stone and stayed in my tense attack position. It was only at this point that I noticed the dead men around him and his case of bandages. I looked up at him from my crouching position and was blinded by the bright midday sun, so I lowered my eyes and to my horror I realized that my counterpart had no shadow.

He seemed to see certainty in my eyes and slowly approached me with soothing words. I did not reply and did not resist either when he looked me in the eyes. After a short time a pleasant feeling spread inside me and the panicked fear was blown away. All that remained was a pleasant feeling of high spirits. He took care of my wound on my wrist and then took me home. As we stood in front of my house, I noticed that the wound on his head was completely healed and wanted to apologize for my behavior, but he only shook his head gently and said that he would visit me more often now".

Livia looked into the vampire's ice-blue eyes for a long time and finally added: "Dettlaff. I owe Regis my life. He saved me from those men and guided me home safely. He never showed me his true form and the only condition on his part was that I should never reveal his intervention in this case to a human soul. I am eternally in his debt and will never be able to repay it. The vampire remained silent while he laid his eyes on Livia.

Now it was up to Livia to ask the same question. "And how did you meet Regis for the first time?" He told her about Regi's condition after his encounter with Vilgefortz and then went on to discuss other events of the past, trying to avoid Rhenawedd as much as possible. After the vampire had finished with the events from Beauclair, he lowered his eyes in shame and did not dare to look up. Livia had listened with her eyes closed and wanted to sit up to talk to Dettlaff about this very serious subject on an equal footing.

While sitting up painfully innumerable muscle strands came up and cried out collectively for a relaxed position. Suddenly, however, she noticed with irritation that she was not wearing any clothes at all. With eyes wide open, she jerked the blanket over her flat bosom and saw a desolate mountain of clothes on the floor, surrounded by a small puddle of water. The thought that she had been unconsciously undressed by a stranger seemed unbearable to her. She was about to make a biting comment when her gaze fell on the suffering creature in front of her, who, due to his dejection, seemed to have noticed nothing of her involuntary exposure.

She noticed that Dettlaff was still wearing his wet clothes and must have spent the last few hours taking care of her solely. Since the accident, she has always kept physical contact with the male sex to an absolute minimum. The young woman pressed her lips firmly together and looked determinedly at Dettlaff.

Trembling, she lifted one hand from the blanket and tentatively touched the vampire's cold cheek with her fingertips. His body tightened instantly and he looked at her with the expression of a chased animal.

His teeth protruded, his fingernails extended into monstrous claws and his ice-blue eyes turned almost white, while his face took on vampire-like features. Her heartbeat quickened and her mind urged her to flee as quickly as possible.

Instead, she clenched her teeth and tried to control her trembling body. She resisted his angry gaze and now enclosed his cheek with her hand. The skin felt firmer than the human skin, his cheekbones were now very pronounced and almost every vein in his face was visible. His nose was slightly flatter and at the same time wider, the auricles tilted sideways and pointed.

A threatening growl rose from his throat and made Livia flinch. Despite the monstrous sight, she felt fear, but also overwhelming pity for this lonely creature of darkness. At first he sought contact with people and now he seemed frightened and broken, his previous world view lay in ruins before him.

"You do not have to go through this alone. You can share your grief with friends and find comfort. Relying on others is not a sign of weakness."

"No, but to misjudge one's counterpart and fall for his words. I trusted once and was disappointed. I will not make that mistake again."

"You will have put your trust in more than one being."

"Yes, but there was only one HUMAN I felt worthy of my trust. This trust also damaged the bond between me and my blood brother. I will not let it happen again!"

As in the Trastamara estate, Livia was overcome by an unexplainable rage and she pulled back her hand. She moved the mountain of blankets aside and stood up in front of Dettlaff. The fact that she was completely exposed in front of him had no meaning for her anymore. Her hip-length golden hair covered most of her upper body and when she bent forward so that their faces were only inches apart, they fell smoothly onto the man's thighs. His intermittent breathing left goose bumps on the affected areas of the alchemist's skin.

"Stop it! Stop that pesky self-pity! Stop with the generalized recriminations! Face reality and the consequences of your actions. Learn from your mistakes instead of demonising them!"

The vampire's body radiated an unnatural heat and trembled with rage. With an almost hissing voice he addressed her: "I have drawn my consequences from my mistakes sterfelijk wezen. In future I will keep my distance from human civilization and prefer solitude."

Furiously, she grabbed the upper buckles of his black leather coat with both hands and pulled him closer to her with a force that was surprising for her. Her narrow nose tip now touched his and in her eyes the flame of determination burned.

"Then why are you still here? You listened to me at the Trastamara estate, rushed to my aid and saved my life and provided for me. Seclusion looks different to me, or is this a misunderstanding between our cultures?!"

A threatening silence set in and time seemed to stand still for a moment.

No one wanted to break eye contact or reciprocate. Too great was the fear of a thoughtless statement and its consequences.

Livia's weakened body solved this problem after some time, as the lips and individual areas of skin began to turn blue from cold. Dettlaff's attentive gaze did not escape this circumstance. He rose, transformed himself back into his human form and reached for the top cover behind Livia. With a stoic mine he put the blanket around her shoulders and breathed out deeply.

"You saved my life. Please give me the opportunity to repay you."

He looked down at the petite woman and saw a wild determination in her eyes. He gave a resigned sigh and turned towards the stairs. "I'll just go and put some wood on the fire. Shall I bring you something special to drink?"

Relief spread through the alchemist's body and she responded with a timid smile:

"A tea, please. Could you explain to me what "sterfelijk wezen" means?"

His eyes softened and the corners of his mouth twitched: "Mortal being."


	8. Differences

Hello dears!

I'm glad you're back to read my story. This is the longest chapter so far and I hope you will enjoy it. 😊

Your Salaka-chan

Differences

Her golden hair curled along her body and, in combination with the blue cotton dress, flattered her petite stature. The green eyes with occasional yellow speckles critically examined the reflection, while the young alchemist tied a braid. Restlessly she teetered in front of the standing mirror, chewing lightly on the already reddened lower lip.

She did not feel well.

The scene of the previous evening was taking place again in her mind's eye and she could really feel the blood circulation in her cheeks suddenly increasing. With a tortured scream she slammed her hands in front of her face and crouched down resignedly. She must clearly have been in a state of complete mental derangement in order to build herself up in front of a man and aggressively rebuke him. As if all this was not enough, she had to pull him towards her, so that the tips of their noses touched. The vampire's gaze, as he put a blanket around her trembling body, formed the brilliant finishing touch. Slender fingers ran through her hair and a suffering sound of frustration emanated from her. If her physical abilities would allow this, she would dig a deep hole for herself and would never return to daylight.

Dettlaff stayed at her bed the previous evening until Livia slipped slowly into a restful sleep after the tea. He blew out the candle and in the distance she thought to hear a "I will be back tomorrow evening" from the deep voice she now was familiar with.

She didn't want to spend another day unsuccessfully, so she put together the most important commissions and made her way to the atelier in Francollarts. Meanwhile, a considerable amount of work had accumulated and this was to be worked off carefully, after all, her parents entrusted her with the management of the shop for a certain period of time. Due to her involuntary longer absence, there was a lively hustle and bustle and besides brewing the required potions, there was a lot of gossip to catch up on. For people in the countryside, entertainment was just as important as buying the desired product. They wanted to feel comfortable and act in a familiar atmosphere.

Due to the heavy workload and the rush of people, the day passed in a flash for the young alchemist and before she realized, the sun had disappeared from the horizon and was replaced by the moon. She could already see from a distance that light was burning in her house and could not help but give a restrained sigh. Undecided how she should face Dettlaff, she hesitantly stopped in front of the entrance.

When she opened the door, Livia encountered a black-haired man in front of her with his arms crossed in front of his chest, trembling, who obviously had difficulty holding back. His eyes seemed to pierce her, and before she had the chance to say anything, the vampire stepped behind the blonde-haired woman and with a smooth movement carelessly threw the door into the lock. He again turned his full attention to Livia and approached her with a raised voice.

"I thought you were wiser sterfelijk wezen! Yesterday you were hardly able to stand for a short time and today you are already leaving your house again! What were you thinking? Hoe kun je zo onvoorzichtig zijn?"

Livia stood stunned in the middle of the room and only noticed after a short break that she stared at her conversation partner with her mouth slightly open.

It did not take too long, however, before she regained her composure and tiredly ran her hand over her forehead. To a certain extent she was relieved by this greeting, which saved her the embarrassment of going back to the previous evening.

"Good evening Dettlaff. Make yourself at home", whereby she attached particular importance to the emphasis of the second sentence. Her counterpart did not seem to find this statement the least bit amusing, and in her mind the alchemist admonished herself to reason. At least she was now certain that the vampire was not receptive to irony, and at the same time she made a side note in the back of her mind to explain this topic to him in more detail on occasion.

"My parents entrusted me with the workshop during their absence. I MUST make sure that business continues to run well and that the customers remain satisfied! I am also dependent to a certain extent on regular income. I only have a limited amount of savings, which I would rather not use".

The vampire did not seem satisfied with this explanation, as he pressed his lips firmly together and continued to assess her with a threatening look. Livia breathed out briefly, stroking the scattered strands of hair from her face before her gaze softened and a small smile appeared at the corners of her mouth. "I thank you for your concern for my well-being and I didn't want to appear rude, in which I was on the road again today. On the contrary, I really appreciate your help! But I am no longer a small child and I can assess my physical condition very well. Look at me. I'm doing much better than I did last night."

"Thanks to your potions. Do they have side effects?" The vampire nodded and pointed to the empty potion bottles at the table. Livia sank into herself and closed her eyes exhausted. "Dettlaff please." She looked at him pleadingly and after a short pause continued: "I am fine. Instead of discussing my condition, we could sit at the table together and continue our conversation from last night."

When Dettlaff was about to respond, someone knocked tentatively on the door. Livia glanced back and forth in shock between the front door and Dettlaff, until she bit her lower lip slightly and stepped towards the door. There was another knock and a soft child's voice was muffled. "Livia are you there? You told me at the store today that I could come see you tonight." Livia owed her stamina during the day to the potions mentioned by Dettlaff, but physical stimulation did not compensate for her weakened mental state. She had long forgotten her promise to Maurice and she could hardly remember inviting the lively boy to her home. She had already taken in enough of the hustle and bustle in the shop. Livia gave Dettlaff an apologetic look and tentatively opened the door.

"Maurice. Please forgive me. I had a lot of work to do in the shop and unfortunately underestimated the amount of work involved. I'm afraid I have no time for you tonight, maybe", she was interrupted by the young little boy.

"Please, Livia! The others! They ... They ...," he sobbed up loud and thick tears ran down his cheeks. Only now Livia noticed the swollen eyes and the isolated small bruises on the boy's face. Mourning entered her green eyes and the young woman went down on her knees in front of the child. Gently she took him in her arms and stroked his trembling back tenderly. Her voice was little more than a gentle whisper. "What have they done?"

The small body twitched uncoordinated and a bloodcurdling scream left Maurice throat. Tears now ran down his reddened cheeks uninhibitedly as he found himself in Livia's embrace. As words seemed unable to reach the child, she squeezed Maurice even tighter and began to hum. She swayed regularly to the beat of the song.

Dettlaff stood petrified next to the two of them and tried to understand the scene that took place in front of him. Uncertain whether he should leave the two of them without another word, he noticed a dirty object on the floor outside the entrance door. Silently he picked it up and inspected it.

The sobbing decreased after some time until the boy finally fell asleep exhausted and powerless in Livia's arms. She gently lifted him up and put Maurice in her bed. She carelessly threw the surplus blankets on the floor before extinguishing the candle next to her bed. When she returned to the living room, she found Dettlaff sitting at her desk next to a warm fire and freshly brewed tea. He seemed to be absorbed in something and did not react to the young woman's approach. Her heart stopped for three beats when she realized what the vampire was about to do and a warm smile came over her lips. A brief moment passed while she watched in admiration the vampire's routine actions before she could tear herself away from the picture to go to the steaming teapot. She filled two cups with the hot drink, putting one of them next to Dettlaff and making herself comfortable with the other on her reading chair. She combed through various folios dealing with the topic of regeneration and tried to optimize her set up formula.

She was aware that Regis could easily brew a far more effective potion for his friend than she could with her current knowledge of alchemy, so in retrospect she was all the more surprised by this request. While studying the more or less well described topics, her mind drifted at regular intervals in this regard, causing her forehead to frown in thoughtful folds. Another distraction was the term blood brother, which she remembered from yesterday's conversation and stubbornly refused to leave her thought processes again.

Despite Dettlaff's attempts to make her understand this, she was just as clever as before.

As the core essence she had learned that the two of them linked an invisible bond through which they could sense each other's feelings, along with other things. In her opinion, this was an extremely unfortunate circumstance. The true feelings are intimate and should not be seen by anyone else without any restrictions, but this didn't seem to bother the vampire in the least.

Despite yesterday's conversation, she could not work the man out. On one hand he seemed to be an extremely gentle being which selflessly helped others without consideration of losses, but the brutal aggressiveness in conflict situations formed a strong contrast to this. In her mind's eye the scene took place in the forest, when the vampire struck down her persistent pursuer with playful ease.

In the dialogue with Regis she already expressed her point of view regarding Dettlaff's physical strength in connection with the incident in Beauclair. But what could one say to a being which, comparable to the pure naivety of a child, timidly tried to integrate itself into human society? The basis for this was the approach that there can be either exclusively good or evil intentions, which in the end turned out to be wrong. This individual was indeed far from socialization.

Thoughtfully she watched the vampire in his activity. The large hands with the pronounced long nails routinely performed the movements, while his eyes concentrated on the object. She also noticed that the usually stiff face of the black-haired man now appeared much more relaxed and the blue eyes took on an almost joyful expression for his circumstances. On the edges, his thick black hair had a few isolated silver strands and formed small curls in the neck area. He seemed to be having fun and Livia could not help smiling.

The surrealism of the moment made her forget everything for a moment. Unfortunately, this also affected the book on her lap, which slipped slowly but steadily down her thigh unnoticed and finally hit the floorboard with a loud thump. Fine particles of dust flew almost weightlessly through the room while their eyes met.

The wheel of time appeared to remain still while the flickering flames of the fire flooded the room with a warm light and brought the shadows to life for a dance along the walls. When the vampire rose and tried to step towards her with a piercing gaze, both were taken out of the moment by the creaking sound of the bed.

Maurice had woken up and after a short time slowly came down the stairs. His face was still reddened and the longer hair stuck tangled in his face thanks to the sweat and dried tears. His gaze wandered from the young alchemist to Dettlaff, where it hung fearfully. He stopped at the last step and mistrustfully watched the black-haired man.

Livia cleared her throat embarrassingly and quickly picked up the book. She laid it on the table and approached the boy with leisurely steps and a light smile. "I haven't introduced you to my new friend, have I?" When she had reached Maurice, she squatted down, pressed her elbows to her thighs and supported her head on both hands to be at eye level with him and continued in a soothing voice. The position gave her a girlish quality, which was further enhanced by her hair pinned up. "This is Dettlaff. Please don't be put off by his grim look, he is actually quite nice. Especially to madly adoring boys like you." She blinked at him, which caused Maurice to sniff again.

"Have the others been mean to you again?" Maurice lowered his eyes and examined his dirty shoes as if they were completely new to him. Livia flinched imperceptibly as she felt the presence of the vampire beside her.

"You lost your doll at the entrance. I cleaned it and restored it for you." Maurice's eyes widened as Dettlaff held the repaired doll out to him. "Noir!" In a flash he took the toy and pressed it firmly to his chest: "Unfortunately I am missing some tools and materials for a better repair, but for now this should be suffice".

Still pressing the doll firmly against himself, the boy jumped off the stairs and hopped through the entire living area. "Thank you, thank you, thank you! Noir had never worn such a beautiful shirt!" From her squatting position Livia could see that the vampire had cut a piece out of the lower part of his red tunic to sew a new shirt to the doll. His light skin tone contrasted strongly with the dark colours of his clothes. A loud melodious laughter was coming out of her, which the vampire didn't miss. He looked down at her with an indefinable look before an outcry from the boy drew his attention back to him.

Maurice became more and more euphoric during his dance of joy until he finally stumbled over a pile of books and fell down lengthwise. Livia held her belly in laughter and had to resist the urge to cry for joy. "I think your problem is solved. Would you like some tea before I take you home?" The boy pulled himself up and nodded vehemently. He found a seat next to Dettlaff and told him the most adventurous stories. The vampire listened to him attentively and asked some questions every now and then when the conversation faltered for a moment. The young woman sat a little further away from the scene and enjoyed the relaxed atmosphere until the boy's gaze became extremely serious.

Dettlaff could not explain the sudden change and looked at Maurice wondering. "Did I say something inappropriate?" The brown-haired boy shook his head and examined the man extensively from head to toe. "No, you did not. But I want to make one thing perfectly clear." He took a meaningful pause, during which Livia reached for her cup again and sipped the tea.

"Livia is mine!" Livia choked and spat out half of the tea again. Embarrassed, she lifted one hand in front of her mouth and stared at them both with blushing cheeks, before she took out her handkerchief to quickly wipe away the worst. "I can understand your interest in her, but when I grow up, I will marry her." The little boy crossed his arms and looked at the taller one with a impish grin.

Dettlaff raised an eyebrow in surprise at the sudden change in the course of the conversation, before the hint of a smile was felt on his lips. He bowed his head slightly as he continued. "Well, Livia is lucky to have an admirer like you" Maurice rubbed his index finger under the nose and grinned. "I'm glad you feel the same way. Then nothing stands in the way of our friendship." With this he offered his hand to the vampire, who hesitantly took it.

"Friends?"

Dettlaff's eyes became warm and his deep voice filled the room. "Friends."

After a while Dettlaff started to speak. "Why is this doll so important to you?" Maurice look became sad. "My papa gave it to me. He... he went hunting in the woods two years ago, and he's been gone ever since. My mother is convinced he's dead, but I don't believe it! He's probably still out there looking for a way back." Dettlaff looked at Livia with a questioning look. "A young mother with a small child and a husband who earns a poorly income. What will the people of the village think if the man suddenly disappears for no reason?" Livia did not manage to express the obvious suspicion. But the vampire didn't seem to understand "And what do people think?" Livia groaned inwardly before she signaled to Dettlaff with a glance that the subject was over for the time being.

Maurice, who had also not understood Livia's allusion, broke the silence. "The others from the village have been very mean to me since then. Today the boys stole my doll and ... you saw the result. But the adults are much worse towards my mother. They use words that I don't know. During the day, mum is strong and cheers me up, but at night, when I am in bed, she sits alone at the fireplace and cries. There are also some nights when she brings men to our house, but they leave us after a few hours. I don't know what they have to talk about in all secrecy, but usually there is a really big meal the next day. It is the most beautiful feeling in the world to fall asleep with a full stomach and cuddled up to mummy in bed. Until dad comes back I will try to be strong. I'll protect my mama from everything."

Before Maurice noticed, Livia wiped the tears from her face and spoke in a slightly broken voice. "Maurice, I'll take you home now. Your mother is probably worried." The boy nodded and looked at Dettlaff. "Will you join us? I could show you more of my toys at home! I don't have many, but I love each one even more." Before the vampire could respond, Livia stepped in. "No. "I'll take you home alone. Dettlaff is here to help me out a little at work. I'm swamped with work, so I need a sub."

Dettlaff frowned and looked at her baffled, but did not object. Before they left the workshop, she picked out one of her smaller jackets and threw it around Maurice's shoulders. On him it looked more like a coat that almost touched the ground. At farewell, the boy surprised the vampire with a lightning-fast hug and thanked him again for repairing the doll.

The path to Maurice's house was quick and before he knocked on the door he turned to the alchemist again. "Thank you for letting me come to you tonight. It is always nice to be with you. Perhaps your friend will be back next time I visit? He is very nice and when he has more time, I will show him all my toys! I'm sure he'll be very interested and jealous of some of them." A sad smile played around Livia's lips as she waved goodbye to him.

When she had left the village and was on the field path to her house, she stopped suddenly. The full moon illuminated the path and made her hair shine in a silver shade. A light breeze played around her dress and lifted it slightly so that the lower half of her slender thighs could be seen. The sunflowers bounced at regular intervals and the large leaves rushed in pleasant harmony. To her displeasure, the young woman noticed that the effect of the potions was gradually fading and severe headaches replaced the dull feeling. With an elegant movement she opened the bow, which held her hair together, and breathed out in relief.

Out of the corner of her eyes she noticed a movement and turned around, "I know you are there. You can show yourself now." Almost simultaneously, the vampire materialized just in front of her and looked her in the eyes without a word. Livia returned his gaze before she continued speaking. "I'm sorry I couldn't take you with me. The turmoil of the last few days made me completely forget to inform you that some of the village people know the human appearance of the Beast of Beauclair." Dettlaff flinched at the mention of the malicious title and pressed his lips firmly together.

"Under no circumstances should you stay in the village. If they recognize you, they will not rest and search the immediate area until they find you."

"Hm." After a short pause he added. "Do you know the men who hurt Maurice and his mother?" Livia blinked puzzled and stroked some strands of hair behind her ear. "I don't know them all. Only the most pushy, who even by day are not afraid to do mean things." He took another step towards her so that their bodies almost touched. His eyes were always on hers and a wild determination burned within them. "Who?"

When Livia understood what Dettlaff was up to, her eyes widened and she took a few steps back. "You can't do that, even if those men commit unspeakable acts!" His breath accelerated and he again shortened the distance between them. "Why not? Why do you want to protect these people? They will never stop! At least not if nobody does anything about it. Until his father returns, someone else must help them!"

Now Livia had the certainty that Dettlaff had not understood the context of Maurice's situation and wanted to go further to explain the facts to the vampire. But that was not to come. Dettlaff grabbed Livia by the upper arms and pulled her towards him, so that their bodies actually touched. "I just don't understand you! You help me and others from the village and you do not hesitate to take any risks! But you do not want to help the boy? Why not?!"

Livia clenched her jaw in rage. "Of course I' II help him! But I always take care not to hurt anyone else! What's so difficult to understand?!"

"If you give me the names of the men, I'll kill them and Maurice will suffer no more."

The young woman's breathing increased and the following sentences came out of her before she had thought about their consequence. "Have you learned nothing from Beauclair?! You want to do the same thing here again? I seem to have been temporarily blinded by your behavior towards me. The title on the wanted posters suits you perfectly!" The vampire's grip loosened and his gaze became more suffering with every further sentence of Livia. In her rage, Livia didn't notice that she had hit Dettlaff deeply and ended hissing with: "You are a monster."

Just before Dettlaff transformed into a cloud and silently disappeared, Livia realized the true extent of the damage she had done. Her heart was racing and she took a few steps in the direction Dettlaff had disappeared.


	9. Cemetry Talks

Cemetery Talks

Livia's clothes stuck uncomfortably to her body when she stopped in front of the entrance of the Mère-Lachaiselongue cemetery. With her eyes slightly narrowed, she looked up into the cloudy sky. It had been raining the whole morning and the dark rain clouds showed no sign of imminent change. Heavy raindrops hit her face and felt as cold as the tears of the previous evening as they ran down her cheeks.

She had crossed a line yesterday, as she unfortunately realized too late. Unforgivable things were said and could not be taken back. Not Dettlaff, but HER, was the monster. She had never been ashamed of her actions in her life, but the hurt look of the man after her impulsive outburst had burned painfully and irrevocably into her mind. He had begun to trust her, had tentatively reached out his hand to her and she had destroyed the fragile bond between them with her thoughtless statement. Regis had described Dettlaff as an extremely emotional personality of extremes, which was confirmed in past encounters. She was all the more shocked by the fact that the vampire hadn't confronted her aggressively as in the last encounters, but had slowly let go of her after her hurtful statement and disappeared with a painful look, transforming into smoke. The absence of an offensive reaction from her counterpart was worse than all the other scenarios that Livia had thought about afterwards. Her lower lip began to tremble and she pressed her eyelids tightly together to counteract the rising tears, while the scene of the previous evening took place again in her mind's eye.

When the rain suddenly stopped, Livia's consciousness pushed back into reality. She noticed that Regis was standing in front of her with an ineloquent expression and had thrown his cape over her to protect her from the wet. Their eyes met and Livia felt her grief disappear for no apparent reason. Bitter realisation was reflected in her eyes before she broke eye contact and tried to push Regis away from her. The vampire grabbed her clammy hands and denied her any kind of resistance. "We should discuss this in peace but not out here, Livia." His voice was calm, but tensed and did not tolerate any contradiction. The person addressed snorted audibly and looked the man in the dark eyes again. "That is why I am here, but please,'" she paused and her gaze took on a hurt expression, " don't take away my grief. I am no longer the little girl I was 16 years ago and after my impossible behavior, I deserve to feel this pain." The vampire blinked, but nodded and led them into the crypt, which he had inhabited for some time now.

The candlelight and the larger stone fire bowls bathed the musty smelling vault in a ghostly light. Cobwebs stretched over a large area through the rooms and, on closer inspection, the scurrying eight-legged shadows on the wet masonry appeared to the young alchemist. Livia pressed her lips tightly together at this sight and pulled Regi's coat tighter around her. The attentive vampire could not escape this gesture and elicited a small smile from him. "You're afraid of arthropods but not vampires?"

The young alchemist truncated and gazed steadfastly into Regi's watchful eyes before starting to answer. "Well..." she paused and thoughtfully looked at the shadows on the wall before her eyes fell to the floor and found only her own outline. The corners of her mouth suggested a smile. "Vampires, fortunately, are more talkative and appear more human, at least at the first sight."

Regis bowed his head understandingly. "This is quite understandable. It's always easier to communicate with your own kind than with other beings." Livia raised an eyebrow in surprise, but abstained from any further comment.

When they arrived at an improvised work table, on which the most diverse ingredients were placed, Regis pointed to the wooden chair and with surprising elegance pushed it towards the young alchemist. "Even though I would love to discuss this extremely interesting topic of the subjective perception of individuals with you further, I fear that we should first devote ourselves to something else. My friend's state of mind, if you'll allow me to make this comparison, has been in a state of ups and downs these past few days, and I suspect that you have not been entirely uninvolved in this." Dark eyes rested on the blonde woman and inside she had to admonish herself to rest. The level-headed appearance of Regis put her completely out of her concept, as she could now take a direct comparison to another vampire. These beings could hardly be more different and yet they had one thing in common. Their actions and ways of thinking were unpredictable for her.

"I can imagine that it has not been easy for you lately. Especially as a blood brother, you must have taken some hits, or am I wrong about that?" Regis looked surprised and leaned against the wall with folded arms. "It seems to me that Dettlaff has told you something." The person addressed nodded and began to tell the elder about the latest events.

When it ended, there was a tense silence. During her monologue the vampire remained with his back against the wall and occasionally ran his index finger thoughtfully over his lower lip. She noticed that his nails were slightly shorter than the black-haired one.

"Hmm." He slowly detached himself from the wall and walked up and down a few steps in front of her. "I didn't want it to end like this. He seemed extremely hurt at that moment and before I had a chance to apologize, he just disappeared."

"Well, that's his way of not acting rashly. Before he could commit an act he would regret afterwards, he thought it wiser to retreat. You usually describe his behavior in his last encounters with you as extremely aggressive and dismissive, but I assure you that this was not and still is not his intention. One must not forget that the incident in Beauclair was only a few days ago and he still has to process these events. Inside he is beginning to understand that Syanna cannot be blamed alone and that his actions were not exactly appropriate. He is only afraid to repeat the mistakes he has made."

The alchemist tilted her head a little. "Still?"

"For him, this subject is by no means closed. But he needs some time to sort his thoughts and to be able to face you again. You were smart to come to me before you met him again." With this, Regis came closer to her and put his hand on her shoulder. "Your concerns about your, well, let's call it rebuking pronouncements are unfounded. I think you have done the right thing by always facing him openly and expressing your opinion without restraint. Dettlaff certainly appreciates your honesty. "

Livia shook her head in disbelief, while small trickles of water poured from her hair and ran down her reddened cheeks. "Nevertheless, the truth can be expressed in a less hurtful way."

The vampire gently embraced her face and looked at her compassionately. "And you shall have your chance to make a proper apology." She pressed her lips firmly together and let his words sink in. Exhausted, Livia closed her tired eyes and breathed out in resignation. "I do not recognize myself. The last days were so..." "Eventful?" She smiled a little before nodding in approval. "Yes. Very eventful." The little smile remained on her lips as she gazed at the table, lost in thought.

"Unfortunately, I can't serve you with dry clothes or a warm drink, but I have a good alternative." At these words Regis handed her a dark bottle with an elongated neck and leaned against the wall again. The alchemist looked at the vessel in surprise and smelled carefully at the opening. When she recognized from the strong smell what she was holding in her hand, she looked at the vampire in astonishment. "You retire to a crypt to get drunk?"

The combination of her stunned gaze and the greatly elevated pitch of her voice made the man laugh, allowing Livia to inspect the sharp tips of his teeth for a brief moment.

"It takes more than a bottle of mandrake brandy to put me in a state of intoxication. I rather use the botany of the local habitat for one of my hobbies and try to improve my skills in it." Livia took a strong sip and had to cough shortly afterwards. Her throat was burning and immediately tears came to her eyes. Regis chuckled amused and took the bottle from her to drink from it himself. "I admit, it has become a little strong. Nevertheless, it should serve its purpose and quickly produce a warming sensation in your body."

She could already feel her cheeks reddening, but she didn't know whether this was due to the alcohol or to her embarrassing feeling. "You know the thing that fascinates me about your human body?"

Grateful for the change of topic, the young woman shook her head helplessly and added dryly. "It's surely not the case that inexperienced drinkers CHOKE on it." "Well, that circumstance less so, of course. But more the fact that alcohol dilates the vessels, causing the body temperature to drop. And despite this fact, you claim to get warm after consuming alcohol."

Thoughtfully, Livia drove her palm over her forehead before she took the bottle back to drink another sip. This time the liquid no longer burned unpleasantly in her throat, so she immediately put the bottle back on again. She kept the brandy in her mouth to taste the different flavours. The main component was the already mentioned mandrake, which gave the drink an extremely bitter taste and dark colour. For the subtle sweet aftertaste, she suggested aniseed, sugar and honey cabbage, while the barely perceptible pungency could have come from ginger.

"I must admit, after a short acclimatization period, this stuff doesn't taste that bad." Regis frowned as he critically examined the bottle again. "Your judgement, however, both pleases and encourages me to further optimize the recipe. I aim for a strong alcoholic beverage, yet easily digestible." He pointed the bottle at Livia and added with a meaningful tone: "Even for occasional drinkers."

The unpleasant cold had long been forgotten and Livia was more than grateful for the cheering conversation.

"One thing I have to say for Dettlaff's sake, though." At the mention of the name Livia flinched imperceptibly and was annoyed that she now stared at the vampire with blatant curiosity, like one of the village women gossips. "He told you that I met him for the first time after the encounter with Vilgefortz, right?" Instead of an answer she just nodded and waited curiously which would follow now. Regis laughed and drove himself with one hand embarrassed over his face. "That looks like him. Despite our dispute, he doesn't mention anything negative about me." For a moment, Regis seemed to hang on to his own thoughts, while Livia crooked her head questioningly.

"You should know that I knew Dettlaff before this incident. Strictly speaking, however, we never really met. We merely spoke a few sentences to each other at various festivities as a matter of courtesy and then went our separate ways again."

"From stiff, forced conversation to blood brothers seems a long way off."

"Indeed. As a young vampire, I was quite... vivacious and therefore the complete opposite to Dettlaff." "Hard to imagine," while Livia took another sip from the bottle.

"The character of an individual changes constantly and only takes shape with a sufficient amount of knowledge and life experience. In the past I lacked this foresight, so I didn't recognize people as equal beings, but only regarded them as cattle." His conversation partner looked at him with big eyes in disbelief, but did not dare to interrupt him and instead took another sip of the self-burned firewater. "I lived a very adventurous life and never got enough. The longing for blood drove me on and on to more daring deeds until I finally went over the edge." Completely absorbed by his narrative, the young woman bent forward, the bottle resting on one of her thighs, her gaze fixed on Regis, while her lips were slightly open.

The vampire lowered his head in shame and cleared his throat in embarrassment before continuing. "I flew in a state of intoxication, which is why I overlooked the taut clothesline and got stuck, allowing some peasants to overpower me, cut off my head, stake my heart and finally bury me."

The bottle on the alchemist's dainty thighs began to tremble in an uncoordinated way, which the vampire did not miss. Worried, he looked up at her and noticed her trembling lips and tense features. "He raised his arms and calmly began to speak in a low voice. "You don't have to worry about it anymore. I have renounced human blood and will never again", he was interrupted when the bottle landed on the table with a swing. The young woman could not hold herself back any longer and broke out into resounding laughter, which left the old vampire perplexed and paused. She patted her thighs and isolated tears of joy were squeezed out of the corner of her eye. It took a while before Livia gradually calmed down and only sporadic chuckles were heard.

As a result of the gradual side effects of alcohol, she spoke more slowly and underlined her following statement with excessive gesticulation. "Forgive me, Regis, I don't mean to be rude, but are you trying to tell me that you're flying drunk and hanging around on clotheslines? What does it look like?" Regis groaned tortured and ran his hand through the grey hair. "I WAS flying high at the time", pronouncing the verb extremely stretched. A short pause passed, during which both looked each other seriously in the eyes, before the crypt was filled with consensual laughter.

Livia wiped the isolated tears from her cheek and gave Regis a grateful look. "Thank you. It's good to talk to a friend about problems." The vampire wanted to start something but was interrupted by Livia with a nervous hand movement. "Not only for this. It's also long overdue for me to thank you for saving my life. Had it not been you, these men would have..." The young woman's face pulled away in disgust as she thought of the men's touches and phrases, though she missed the vampire's confused look. "Livia, I'm not sure if" "It doesn't matter! For that I am sure I will be eternally grateful to you. And I will continue to do you every favour, however strange, as long as it is in my power. Even if I have to cheer up a certain downcast vampire, I'll do my best. The certainty that I didn't completely screw up after my disgraceful appearance to Dettlaff relieves my conscience immensely. There seem to be certain advantages to being bound together by blood. I could have sworn he never wanted to have anything to do with me! To tell you the truth, I was pretty scared about it. Even if our past meetings were not entirely peacefully, they were still amusing in their own quirky way. I suppose if Dettlaff were to disappear from my life again now, ... I would miss something." Regis silently followed the young woman's monologue and noticed that her speech became more and more subdued towards the end and her facial features took on a warm expression.

"I'm glad that you gave my friend a chance and now you've seen his positive qualities." Livia's cheeks now resembled overripe tomatoes and the fact that they were in a crypt seemed to have completely disappeared from her mind. "I must confess that I am a little surprised You don't seem to tolerate alcohol very well. Has Mandrake's brandy got a little too strong for me after all?" He looked thoughtfully at the bottle and smelled at the opening, while she could hear the drink sloshing against the bottle wall. "You should rest here for a while and go to Beauclair before you go home. I'll write a note with an address for you to go to." The blonde-haired woman nodded and let her gaze wander through the vault. "RESTING sounds good. I've always wanted to REST in a crypt."

Regis shook his head, smiling. "Please forgive me. I hadn't considered that you couldn't handle alcohol. Please accept this letter as an apology for my little mishap and read it in peace at home."

Livia rose and walked a few steps unsteadily. Meanwhile she noticed herself that speaking became more and more difficult and that she tried to compensate it by talking even slower. "Just put it in my bag. I'll try to get some rest now." She chose a marble slab without any decorations on the lid and made herself comfortable on it before she gave a little fart and slipped into a dreamless sleep.

The vampire blinked in amusement and looked approvingly at his self-made drink.


	10. Looming shadows

I enjoy my semester break to the fullest and manage to write a little more 😊 ! Now I have already written 10 chapters and finally managed to start with the actual plot :D ! Whoo-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo! I wish you, as always, a lot of fun reading and would be happy about comments like a boss 3

Your Salaka-chan

Looming shadows

When the knight stopped her with a bored expression on his face, Livia was already prepared for the coming situation thanks to Regis. With his slightly unkempt appearance and chubby cheeks, the man fitted perfectly into the run-down harbour district of Beauclair. Since her home village was surrounded completely by fields, the stinging smell of fish got into her nose all the more.

"Stop! Only those with a legitimate interest may enter this building."

The alchemist nodded knowingly and looked the knight confidently in the eyes, which clearly impressed him. "I am aware of this, but thank you very much for the hint. My name is Livia Moreau and I am a prospective alchemist from Francollarts. I am thinking of expanding my parents' business and would like to take a closer look at this property."

He examined her and just from that moment on seemed to notice that despite her stature and height she was not a child but a young woman. She tried to cover up her exhaustion with her extremely self-confident appearance and admonished herself in her mind never to touch a bottle of alcohol for the rest of her life. Thanks to the potion "purgatio" from the vampire, most of the collateral damage of her boozing was mitigated and only a slight headache remained. Before her departure, Regis had assured her several times that she had neither spoken ill-consideredly nor committed any embarrassing acts the previous evening. It was the first time that she had no memories at all of a previous evening, and this was to be the first and last time.

"Beauclair already has quite capable alchemists. Why would people go to see a stranger?"

Livia frowned and gave the knight's man a devastating look, causing her interlocutor to scratch his feet restlessly. "Occasionally it takes a breath of fresh air to push people further and I would like to try my luck at this. Long-established alchemists remain true to their old conventions and are reluctant to resort to new methodologies. I, on the contrary, prefer modernity and would like to push the craft of alchemy further. To accomplish this, it would be good if I could gain more experience in this field through clients and at the same time be in the capital, which would enable me to share my latest groundbreaking findings with researchers."

Her extremely plump, but nevertheless quite high-minded speech seemed to exceed the mental capacities of the somewhat chubby man. When it ended, he waited a few more seconds to make sure nothing else would follow and finally cleared his throat in embarrassment. "Very well. I see that there is a legitimate interest, Mademoiselle ..."

"Moreau." Livia replied with narrowed eyes, annoyed.

The armed man showed the beginnings of a small bow. "Of course, Miss Moreau."

When Livia wanted to continue her way, the knight stopped her again with a gesture of his hand and she could not avoid an annoyed groan.

"Excuse me. You must have noticed what happened here a few days ago."

This was a rhetorical statement, because he did not wait for her reaction and continued. "This building has been vacant for some time because the previous owner was unable to cover the running costs of the business. A vampire took advantage of this fact and lived in the building undisturbed. Probably he thought up the insane plan to destroy Beauclair in this building. Well, well, well." He tapped himself against his chest with a broad grin, "He did not reckon with the capable knights of Toussaint. Believe me, he won't be back anytime soon! But to prevent another monstrosity from entering Beauclair right away, I have to do a little test on you."

Livia didn't know what would impress her more. The almost endless seeming stupidity of this man or his pronounced self-confidence. Before she could start a biting comment the knight splashed her with a clear cold liquid. Normally this would have been the point where she would have screamed like a fury at this annoying soul, but as chance would have it, the home-made liquor saved the life of this incompetent individual from a "monstrosity", rather its side effect. Her fingers trembled slightly as she wiped the drops off her face and her voice took on a deep undertone as she spoke at a moderate volume. "Could you please explain to me what this shit is all about?"

"With respect, it is not proper for a young lady to use such words. I sprinkled holy water on you to ascertain your humanity. As a second and final test, please touch this dagger."

He handed her a silver dagger and she grabbed it with the ulterior motive, if the headache should increase further thanks to this idiot, to make some animal sounds. If she was lucky, she could frighten him so much that he would piss himself into his armour. In the end, reason prevailed and she silently returned the weapon to its owner. He happily stepped aside and let her pass.

Before she entered the house, she inspected the exterior. Although it had been empty for some time, it didn't look very run-down from the outside. She liked the sign at the entrance with the rocking horse and the inscription 'The Rocking Horse - Toys and Pleasures'. The colours on the wood of the sign had faded due to the sunlight, but it still had a certain charm. The same applied to the red colour of the building. At a moderate pace she walked up the steps to the entrance and opened the door.

She was not particularly surprised that the toys still were on the shelves. A thick layer of dust lay on the items and the shop displays. She walked carefully through the passage until she reached the bottom of a staircase. A queasy feeling crept over her as she walked up the worn steps. The first thing she noticed was the painting of a woman on the wall below the round window. She was beautiful and her eyes glowed with life, while her lips revealed a sweet and engaging smile. Unbridled rage seized her at the sight of this image. One could see, almost feel, the romantic feelings and longing of the artist if it were not for the disturbing knowledge of the true character of this model in the back of her head. Everyone has his vices and has to live with them, but everyone is free to take the path he or she thinks is the right one. Syanna had decided to dedicate her life to revenge and did not hesitate to use any kind of abomination to achieve it. She was a MONSTER.

She will apologise to Dettlaff for her behaviour and show him that not all mortals were completely depraved. As she explored the rest of the room, she found various tools for maintaining toys on the workbench. She made sure that the knight had not followed her, and with nimble movements packed everything into her bag, noticing a letter on the bottom of the bag and remembering vaguely that she had received it from Regis. After she had bagged all the tools, she sat down on the bed and noticed with great surprise the absence of a cloud of dust. The higher vampire must have lain down here several times.

Livia could only imagine all too well how the fear and uncertainty had slowly but steadily worn down the impatient vampire.

How often had he lain in this bed and thought about his further actions? How often did the grief for his beloved bring him to the brink of despair? How often had he worked on and repaired the toys to distract himself from reality for a short period of time?

Her spiral of thoughts ended with the last central question: Could vampires cry?

There was no doubt that these beings were capable of feeling emotions and yet she could not imagine this situation. This behavior seemed too ... human. Too weak for such a powerful being. But if this was the case, how did they deal with their grief? Was the next obvious alternative destruction? A gradual transition from one extreme to another?

The thoughtful wrinkles on her forehead became even deeper as she read the letter. The content, despite the neat and beautifully curved handwriting, was completely absurd for the young woman and by no means realizable in reality. At least that was what she wanted to tell herself, but a treacherous synapse in the vastness of her mind was already underhandedly beginning to plan for the days that followed. As she descended the creaky stairs again, a bushy beard adorned Syanna's face and Livia hummed happily.

Bright sunshine greeted her as she left the former games store when the annoying knight came into her field of vision again. She twitched her eyes in annoyance after she had grasped the situation that was going on in front of her. In front of this respectable idiot stood a slim woman with buxom breasts, which were particularly noticeable by a daring cleavage. He willingly told her everything important about the condition of the real estate and which basic data had to be observed. She recognized that no test procedure would be carried out on this tantalizing woman to check her for "humanity". Annoyed, she pushed her chin forward and muttered: "This chubby dolt will pay for this. Nobody messes with me scot-free."

With a moderate walking pace she passed them and after a few more steps she could tell from the lady's giggling that her plan had worked out. With nimble fingers she now stowed Regis' empty flask under her shirt and dared a glance to the toy store. The knight looked at the isolated drops on his armor and the yellow puddle that was directly underneath him with a stunned look. After a very short time he assumed an unhealthy red skin tone in the facial area. A gloating grin spread across her lips and she opened her braid with a flowing movement, causing her long hair to curl smoothly along her body. The scene seemed to come to a climax, as even some children had not escaped this prank. The roaring and screeching was enough for Livia as applause and when other passers-by noticed the knight's alleged mishap, the young woman started laughing stupidly. But now she was only too happy to bear her tomcat.

She went to some shops before she left town to make her way back to Francollarts. It was already late afternoon and there were hardly any travelers left on the streets. Without a horse, the journey took almost 2 hours, so she could not help but sigh.

At the edge of a field of sunflowers she noticed a large, gaunt figure from the distance. He was dressed in dark clothes and on closer inspection he turned out to be a scholar. His black, back-combed hair and minimalistic glasses made him look like a bird. When she tried to pass him, he cleared his throat and adjusted his glasses. "Excuse me, young lady."

Livia paused and looked at him suspiciously. "I'm an explorer passing through and I'm looking for a cheap place to stay"

It did not escape the alchemist's attention that the man carried no baggage whatsoever and hardly looked like a traveler. Her facial features hardened before she countered him with a dismissive tone:

"There is a large city in front of you. I am sure you will find suitable accommodation there for the night. If you do not have enough money, a bench will also do it. The guards patrol at regular intervals, thanks to recent events.

The short, cold and piercing look made Livia flinch before a broad smile appeared on the pale face.

"Ah yes. Of course. I should have been more precise." He bowed deeply in front of the young woman before continuing. "My journey began in Beauclair and shall now take me across the country. I am particularly concerned with the lower classes and their use of scientific methods."

Livia tilted her head. "In other words, you study the fertilizers used by farmers and their yield" When he again bowed humbly before her and smiled at her, Livia came to the conclusion that the first impression did not always have to be the right one. She wanted to give Dettlaff a few more days to sort out his thoughts and she could think of an appropriate excuse. Her goal was to show him that not all people are equal. However, if she wants to change someone, she should also have the willingness to change herself. Her weak point was the interaction with men. This was the best opportunity to set the basis. She timidly returned his smile and continued. "I come from Francollarts. Our village is specialized in cattle breeding and agriculture, if you like we can walk the path together. There's also a tavern with cheap lodgings and excellent food."

"My sincerest gratitude. It seems to me that fate has smiled upon me to choose you as my companion."

After this exaggerated praise, Livia could not stop laughing and held out her hand to the man, who grasped it firmly.

"My name is Livia Moreau and you?"

"Sebastion Morel. Pleased to make your acquaintance."

At the beginning, they generally talked about Toussaint and the most wondrous corners of this land, while surrounded by flowering fields. As Livia had never traveled further in her life than between Francollarts and Beauclair, she listened more to Sebastion and occasionally asked an interposed question. She tried to find out the geographical locations of the most amazing places described, and when the time came to take a little trip to these areas. Maybe she could convince a certain reclusive vampire to go on the journey with her, after all they would hardly meet other humans in the wilderness.

After some time the scientist changed the topic of conversation and asked Livia about her everyday life and profession. His praises about her field of interest flattered her and after some time she also asked him about his daily life.

"Well", did she imagine this or did the voice of her interlocutor become a bit cooler? "As mentioned at the beginning, I am concerned with the application of science in everyday life. But it would be extremely bland to study only one discipline, wouldn't it?" Livia merely blinked and looked at Sebastion questioningly. "A very interesting subject, but one that requires extreme caution, is the exploration of - divinitus electus sanguis excogitatoris-.", whereby he pronounced the technical term extremely stretched and did not turn his gaze away from her.

"Eh?" She cocked her head and looked at her interlocutor perplexed.

He did not seem to have expected this reaction on her part, as he needed a few seconds to catch himself and then could not suppress his loud laughter. "Please forgive me. I did not want to confuse you with this statement. Frankly, I expected a completely different reaction."

The wrinkles on her forehead became deeper and deeper as she tried to translate the term with her sparse knowledge of foreign languages. She could only translate sanguis offhand. Blood. But blood from what and in which context?

Deep in her thoughts, she did not notice the absence of Sebastion. The impact from behind came unexpectedly and before the pain could start she was protectively surrounded by a paralyzing darkness.

When her consciousness returned to reality she was painfully overcome by a bitter realization. She wanted to change and give male beings a certain amount of trust. The result was undeniably phenomenal. Was it the same for Dettlaff?

The second thing she noticed was the sunset and the long shadows that the ruins cast over the marsh. In the distance, she heard some male voices, although she could not fully understand the content of the conversations, due to her recent awakening. Some had an accent and used quite a lot of rough language.

Livia wanted to turn on her back when she noticed that her hands were tied behind her waist. Her breath accelerated with each passing second, while the adrenaline rush pushed the pounding headache into the background. What did these men want from her? Was the abduction accidental or planned in advance? Sebastion, he was not only dressed like a scholar, but he expressed himself like one. It couldn't have been all an act. Was he behind all this? If not, maybe he was a prisoner too and she could work out an escape plan with him?

With effort she raised her head and sounded out the situation. In the next second she cursed herself inwardly for this step when she looked into the sneaky eyes of a muscle-bound man sitting on a chair a few steps away. The seat creaked as the mercenary with his heavy gear rose and at an unexpected speed reduced the distance between them. Just before her, he crouched down and gave her a scornful look. "Well, my dove? Did you sleep well?" He ran his thick fingers over her lips. In shock and without a thought for the consequences, she bit. Her counterpart cursed blasphemously and struck her in the face with the back of his hand. The force of the blow made her head hit the floor and she thought she would lose consciousness for a short time.

The fight did not go unnoticed and Livia saw a familiar figure emerging from the corner of her eye. She pulled her lips in disgust. "Is this the kind of science you want to study among the common people?"

There was no smile on Sebastion's face. Instead of replying, he walked towards the giant who was still squatting and kicked him in the face with surprising force, causing him to go down screaming. With unnatural calm, Sebastion began: "Tell me, what was our agreement?" But he did not wait for a reaction from the other and stepped in again. With eyes widened in horror, Livia saw the scholar pull out a dagger and hit the stunned mercenary several times between his eyes. The blood splattered in high splashes into all directions with every further blow, so her face got some of it. Standing in shock, she made no sound and could not turn away from the cruel scene. The other men within the Hanse must have witnessed the incident but did not interfere.

As Sebastion wiped the bloodstained dagger with the inside of his jacket, he turned to Livia and continued speaking with blissful calm. "Please forgive me. I fear that my manners have deteriorated a bit after prolonged exposure to this riffraff, but I assure you that it will not happen again."

He stepped out of her sight and halted behind her. She tried to control her breathing, which turned out to be impossible. This man was unpredictable! He was insane! A madman hiding behind the facade of a scientist! The touch of cold steel on her wrist made her stop in her thought. She heard something get cut before Sebastion stepped in front of her again. He held his hand out to her, which she grasped without another thought. Her wrists had red welts and her movements were extremely stiff due to the cuffs. Sebastion pulled a white cloth from his pocket and wiped her face with routine movements. When he had finished, she was shocked at the sight of the now red-soaked cloth.

"A mademoiselle should not lie tied down on the floor." With a scowl on his face he continued. "However, if I discover that you tried to escape, you will regret it." With these words he disappeared and Livia let herself fall to the ground in silence. Her head was empty before Sebastion's voice could be heard again from a distance.

"You filthy, disgusting vermin! We have an agreement and you will keep it. If you don't, I'll split the skulls of every one of you fuckers. Do we understand each other? Nobody, absolutely nobody touches this woman! If you harm her and she bleeds, you will face hell and I assure you, you will regret it for the rest of your miserable lives."

The young alchemist could not believe that Sebastion was feeling so safe, leaving her behind without further security precautions. He seemed to leave nothing at risk. Why was he so lenient at this point? She looked at her damaged wrists and realized that not much would have been missing until some of the marks were scraped off. She is not supposed to bleed. Why? The term shot into her head on their way back to Francollarts together. Divinitus electus sanguis excogitatoris. She no longer believed in coincidence. This was all planned in advance. Sebastion seemed to have been waiting for an opportunity for her to leave the village. Why didn't he do it the day she first met Dettlaff? The forest would have been ideal. Questions about questions, but hardly plausible answers.

The sphera sensum came to her mind. Dettlaff could free her without further problems, but that would mean that he would have to kill for her again. Basically these men were just monsters like the creature in the forest. Would the vampire see it that way? After her last statement, did she have the right to ask him for help? Hot tears ran down her cheeks when she realized that right and wrong were not always so easy to differentiate. She lectured him about morality, but Maurice was in a similar situation as she was at the moment. She was torn from her state of shock when she heard the men speak in a subdued manner.

"Hear, hear. This asshole acts up and marks the big guy. Let him. She can't lose blood? It's no problem. She' s got nice hands and a mouth you can do all kinds of things with. Right?"

The laughter of the men was too much for her. Livia squeezed her eyes tightly together and held the sphere tightly closed.


	11. Awakening

Soooooooooooo my friends praise the sun! It's done! *drum roll*

Finally after an eternity comes an action-packed chapter :D

As always a lot of fun while reading

Your Salaka-chan

Awakening

"Fear is a devious foe. It germinates in the subconscious and quietly and secretly strikes its roots during everyday situations, before a true network develops over the years. Actions and decisions are influenced and everyday situations are dealt with latently. The true extent of one's fears is only noticed in unforeseen extreme situations. In these situations, the rational mind fails completely, so that the neocortex takes over control for the most part for further actions.

Regeneration begins in the head, Sebastion Morel, Volume 1, p.14, 1st edition

The sphaera sensum felt cold and heavy in her trembling hand while the young woman tried to concentrate on the surrounding sounds. It had been silent in the camp for quite some time, but the uncertainty that these men could come to her at any time robbed Livia of her sanity. How long had she been sitting on the hard floor waiting for the vampire to arrive?

Despite the disgusting speech, none of the men had dared to come to her. Were they perhaps waiting for the protection of the darkness or did another factor play an important role? Judging by the number of voices, it must have been about twelve men. At first glance Sebastion did not seem to be a permanent member of this group, why did none of the others turn against him after the brutal murder of a comrade? The scholar was physically undoubtedly strong, yet he was to be at a distinct disadvantage due to the number of remaining members.

The corpse, which was centrally located within her prison area, did not contribute much to the promotion of her way of thinking. The giant already showed the first signs of rigor mortis and the strong colour of his blood resembled the red of a rusty blade.

Livia closed her eyes and tried to clear her head. She had to think! Think more! On the one hand, rational conclusions helped her to calm down a bit and on the other hand, an acceptable escape plan could come to her mind. The young alchemist drove herself over her forehead at regular intervals while she pondered. If she could draw Dettlaff's attention to herself, there might be a way to avoid unnecessary bloodshed. Her gaze rested on her chafed wrists before the penny dropped after some time. An injury should draw the vampire's attention directly to her!

Livia rose with trembling knees and explored the immediate surroundings. The roof of the vault was completely destroyed because of its age and the influence of nature. Most of the fragments of the ceiling were scattered along the side walls of the original building on the mossy floor, while the ivy-covered brick walls had been preserved to a certain extent and provided a sparse screen from prying eyes.

On the small wooden table, at which her chaperone had been sitting just a few minutes ago, was a dagger next to a small cash cat, Gwent cards and a beer. In avoid attracting the attention of the men, she crawled carefully to the battered table. The damp moss yielded under her trembling palms and made a barely audible smacking sound with every of her movements. From close up she recognized that it was a simple blade, probably used only for peeling food. The weapon did not look well maintained and the metal seemed to be brittle in some places, but for her purpose it should be more than sufficient.

While inspecting the dagger, she forgot to pay attention to the surroundings for a short careless moment. The noises from the camp were completely muted and a disturbing silence settled over the Hansa.

"What have we here? A little girl with a matching sword?"

Shocked, the blonde-haired woman rose up and noticed several male figures only a few steps away from her. Her eyes widened in horror and the grip around the weapon hardened so her ankles turned white. Contrary to expectations, these men were able to move almost silently despite their hulking statures.

"Don't worry, we can serve you with something hard that won't cut you." One of the men was about to laugh out loud when another one hit him in the stomach with his elbow.

"Pssssssssst. We should be quiet. If HE should hear what we are about to do, then..."

"How can you be quiet? After a long time finally a pretty thing! This is worth celebrating! So my little one. Daddy won't hurt you. Just put the knife down and do as we say, and nobody gets hurt. Don't worry, we'll all have a good time."

Tears gathered in the alchemist's eyes, blurring her vision and fusing the men's faces into unclear contours. Her lower lip trembled before she thrust the rusty edge of the dagger into her left wrist with a powerful stroke. Warm blood ran down her dirty skin, leaving a shiny light red trail behind it.

For a brief moment, the world seemed to stand still. Livia felt neither pain nor fear. Her entire being was filled with her steady heartbeat, which was now in absolute harmony with her mind. Her mouth slightly open, she glanced at the blood that slowly collected on the moss-covered ground below her wrist. Was it her imagination, or did her blood make a humming sound? The fine particles of which the vital fluid consisted seemed to answer her mute call. No words were needed. An inexplicable paradox that only the user himself could understand.

The reaction of the men to this sudden act was extremely various. Some panicked and quickly took off, to escape the wrath of Sebastion, while others went into a state of shock and watched the young woman with frightened eyes. The one who had harassed her with lewd remarks was not deterred by her actions and approached her with unexpected speed and hungry gaze. With an iron grip he grasped her injured wrist, pulled out the dagger and threw it behind him with a careless movement.

He had brown shoulder-length hair, muscley upper arms and a broad face with a large scar. When he smiled, his teeth were unexpectedly well-groomed.

The mercenary grabbed a blonde tuft of Livias' hair and pulled her to the ground with a firm, unyielding jerk. To prevent her from getting up, he sat down on Livia with his full weight, grabbed her hands and pressed them down crosswise over her head. Since the young woman was physically inferior to the mercenary, he could use one of his hands and pull out a knife. He pressed it against her chest and looked into her eyes with a spiteful grin.

"This is what a sharp knife looks like. A small tug is enough," he said, cutting her top and underwear with a routine movement, "to slice anything you want. You are truly a beauty, though a bit too skinny and with too little tits." He impatiently drove his tongue across his lips.

"What's up, doll? Say something. I don't like woman which not talking to me." He carefully moved the tip of the knife from her chin to the space between her breasts and finally held the blade over her waistband. He looked at her curiously and he seemed to like what he saw. Big eyes filled with fear, tears running down her reddened cheeks and an uncoordinated twitching all over her body.

He pressed his growing arousal briefly against her abdomen before he used his weapon to split her trousers. He finally returned the knife to its sheath and enjoyed the generous sight. "Do you know what is best for virgins? The change from a hopeful look to bitter realization that this situation cannot be avoided."

He grabbed one of her breasts and squeezed it tightly, causing Livia to emit a painful whimper. This seemed to further stimulate the mercenary and he bit her firmly on one of her earlobes.

Livia could feel his heavy breath on her ear and went into a state of shock. "Please, let me go. I will not tell Sebastion anything. Please, let me go. Please. Please, let me go." She repeated these sentences in a whisper like a mantra, which should protect her from all evil.

Still at her ear the man whispered almost tenderly, "Since you're bleeding anyway, we might as well have fun like the grown-ups."

When the young woman did not react to this statement but continued to make her request, he struck her in the face with the back of his hand, which made her fall silent.

"Shut the fuck up! When I said that the women should speak to me, I was assuming a different text." Undeterred, he ran his warm tongue across her throat and sucked on her sensitive skin. Livia sobbed up loudly and tried with all her strength to free herself from his grip. Unsuccessfully.

The mercenary pulled away from her and ran his hand over her chest again before he turned to the lower part of her body. The fat fingers were already touching the upper pubic area when Livia screamed out loud in desperation.

The brown-haired man paused and slowly looked down at himself. When the realization struck him, his mouth twisted into an "Oh." and he collapsed to the side of the floor, while his blood spread at an unnatural speed across the mossy ground from his open abdominal wall.

Shortly afterwards, the twitching body was impaled by huge claws and hurled with inhuman force against one of the overgrown brick walls. The intensity of the impact caused the wall to collapse, causing a dense cloud of dust to restrict visibility within this area. Livia sat up, breathing heavily, and felt a wave of relief crashing over her.

"Dettlaff." Her voice barely more than a whisper.

The vampire silently approached her and put his heavy coat around her trembling shoulders, being careful not to touch her with his claws. The leather felt cold as Livia pulled the garment protectively around her body. She looked into almost white eyes and a furious, distorted, bestial face. The vampire gave a growl when he rose again. " They will pay for this. Every one of them!"

Before she could react, Dettlaff disappeared in the dust cloud and she couldn't even imagine the carnage outside her sight. The initially numerous, but slightly panicky battle cries fell silent one after the another within a very short time, and before Livia realized it, there was a ghostly silence in the Hansa.

Her racing heartbeat roared in her ears while she felt like a stranger in her body. With the greatest effort she got on her feet and walked with uncertain steps, the coat tightly pulled around her body, in the direction from which she had last heard the battle sounds.

The lifeless bodies of the men, which were lying on the ground, were completely disfigured by the unbridled rage of the vampire and were hardly recognizable as human beings. Their blood and guts were scattered all over the ground and the crushing stench of death was heavy in the air. In the midst of this horrible sight stood Dettlaff, his back turned to her. The fresh blood of his enemies stuck on his claws and dripped onto the ground at regular intervals and with an faint splash.

Livia wiped her forearm over her face, wet with tears, before approaching him.

"Don't come any closer!"

Her heart skipped a beat as she stopped and watched the vampire in confusion. The sharp claws shortened to the distinctive fingernails and when the black-haired man turned to her, he was completely transformed back into his human form.

"You were right, I am a monster. That's why I will never understand you humans and I don't want to, if it means that I should use force to subdue defenseless beings. Forgive me."

Her breathing came in fits as she listened to the vampire with increasing horror. "No!" She took another step towards him, causing him to stiffen his posture and press his lips firmly together, while his now light blue eyes took on a suffering expression.

"You are not a monster! The monsters were lying dead on the ground and", she paused for a moment and took a deep breath, "and one is standing in front of you. I have said unforgivable things, which I am now ashamed of beyond all measure. I wanted to be friends with you and teach you the most important human conventions, but I can't even get my own life in order. I'm so sorry." Her last sentence was little more than a whisper as she closed her eyes in shame and lowered her head.

She felt a flow of warm air on her body before the vampire materialized again right in front of her. His voice was muffled and from the serious tone of voice, Livia could not interpret his current mood. "You... did?"

The blonde-haired woman did not dare to look up when she answered quietly. "That's no way to treat friends. What I said to you was unforgivable."

She felt the vampire's hand on her chin before he forced her to look into his face with gentle pressure. Her eyes widened as she discovered the enormous longing in the vampire's eyes. He looked at her with appreciative gratitude before he responded with a warm tone. "I forgive you mijn dappere vriendin."

Livia blinked and a little smile slipped onto her lips. "Dettlaff, I don't know the Nilfgard language."

Before the vampire could reply, he was caught by a strong magical wave and hurled against one of the old ruin walls, whereupon he was buried under the weight of the loosening stones.

"How dare this lower being touch you. Everyone should know his place in this world."

Ignoring Sebastion, Livia ran with a shrill outcry, as fast as she could with the oversized coat, to the vampire who was trapped. But before she could reached him, she was stopped by the scholar. He wrapped one arm around her waist, while the other embraced her neck. Surprised by this inhuman speed, she wanted to look at him as he momentarily squeezed the air from her and forced her to continue looking in the direction of her friend.

"Take a good look my dear Livia. Such a disgusting vermin must be removed from this planet It has no business here."

In the meantime Dettlaff had freed himself and looked at Sebastion with hatred. His pointed fangs moved forward and his claws were ready to rip this man to shreds. But the battle-experienced vampire should not get the chance for a counterattack.

Sebastion bent down to whisper directly into Livia's ear. "Look at this beast. Do you seriously think he has a purely friendly interest in you? I guess he only wants one thing from you." He ran his fingers over her carotid artery.

A black magic lance materialized above their heads and pierced Dettlaff's upper body with unimaginable speed. Eyes widened in surprise, the vampire spat blood while a huge hole gaped in his chest. His powers of regeneration began to heal instantly and showed themselves in form of red glittering blood beads along the wound. Again a lance descended on Dettlaff. This time a thigh was punctured, causing the vampire to fall to the ground with an angry, animal-like scream.

Her face pale and her green eyes full of panic, Livia tried to pull herself from the man's steel grip. "Stop it now! You are completely insane! You even kill your own men!"

Sebastion laughed with amusement and turned his gaze to the young woman in his arms. "You are right. I should thank your FRIEND for his help. Now things will be a little easier with my men in the future."

Indescribable desperation spread through Livia because of her helplessness. She neither had the strength to free herself from Sebastion's firm grip nor could she follow his pointless talk.

"I always wanted to cut a vampire's head off and stake his heart, or do you want to keep his heart as a good luck charm and hang it around your neck? Then you would have your friend with you always! Yes, I think that's a most charming idea. Let's give this abomination a moment of regeneration before we rip his heart out."

When her legs weakened, Sebastion pressed her even tighter. "Take a good look, Livia. This is the true power that I strive for and intend to develop further. Even such a creature of darkness, feared by humans since the conjunction of the spheres, kneels before me. With you, my power will grow and flourish beyond measure."

"Please," her voice trembled and hot tears ran down her cheeks, "Stop torturing him like this. I'll do anything you want, but let Dettlaff go."

The vampire growled and tried to get on his feet, but without success. The thigh was just a mushy and fleshy mass and therefore needed time to heal. He leaned on his arms with all his strength and looked at Livia with determination before he transformed into smoke and tried to approach his opponent in this way.

Annoyed, Sebastion snorted: "Indeed, some beeings don't know when it's over. You have chosen a very stupid bat."

When Dettlaff was behind Sebastion and wanted to strike, he was again caught by a magic wave and hurled against a wall. Exhausted, he remained lying in his own pool of blood for a moment before launching another attack.

Sebastion had turned with Livia towards the injured vampire and forced her to continue watching the spectacle. The fact that Dettlaff, despite his considerable injuries, did not stop protecting her, shocked her deeply. Such a submissive devotion was previously foreign to her. The sight of the suffering being became too much for her and in her head the buzzing increased steadily. It was unbearable and Livia thought she was losing her mind. She cried out and did not notice how the attacker backed away from her.

"Stop hurting him already!" The wound on her wrist was still open. During her outburst, isolated drops of blood gathered in the air and assembled into larger spheres. The blonde-haired woman turned to the man and looked at him hatefully. The spheres of blood shot into Sebastion's body, leaving deep flesh wounds in the affected areas. One of the bullets pierced his head with a smacking sound between his eyes.

The scholar slumped down and lay lifeless on the ground. There was silence for a few seconds before Livia realized that the buzzing in her head had stopped. Undecided what had just happened, she turned away from Sebastion, gasping for breath, and ran to the higher vampire, who had now collapsed, breathing in jerks, under the pain of his injuries.

She settled down beside him and tremblingly touched his blood-crusted cheek. "Dettlaff!"

She sobbed up in panic when she saw the man's wounds from close and tried to imagine his immense pain. In one of their conversations, Regis had once mentioned that Dettlaff had a very impressive regenerative power, even for vampires. However, he did not seem to have fully recovered from the fight in Beauclair, as she could hardly see any healing progress. During this flashback, she remembered another characteristic of vampires.

She glanced down at her wrist for a moment before looking at Dettlaff with a determined look. "Drink my blood."

Unnoticed in the background, Sebastion's body began to crumble into dust and scattered colorful particles rushed into the nightfall.


	12. Origin

It is done! Another chapter is finished and I am curious how you guys will like it. As always I wish you a lot of fun while reading 3

Your

Salaka-chan

Origin

A pleasant fragrance, like a sweet embrace, enveloped him, while something soft covered his face and tickled him at times with gentle movements. He felt safe after the unwanted loneliness and at the same time wished that he would never wake up from this dream. Memories of long gone summer days full of bliss filled his mind. A tender smile was on his lips as he tried to touch the source of the smell with his hand. The vampire's long fingers ran through silky soft hair, while his distinctive fingernails stroked over warm skin, allowing him to better absorb the lovely scent. He was familiar with this scent, but it took his mind a while to make the right connections.

Instantly his consciousness returned to reality and the most recent events happened in rapid succession before his mind's eye. Her tearful face, her attempts to help him and the mad magician. Dettlaff rose up in panic, ready to continue the fight before he realized that he was in Livia's workshop.

Silence reigned in the building, only interrupted by the blonde woman's quiet breathing in and out. Half she sat on a small stool by the side of the bed, half she lay with him, her arms folded under her head as a pillow substitute.

Dettlaff's posture relaxed and he uttered a relieved sigh as he remembered the end of the fight. He looked down gently at the woman, noticing her severely reddened face. This small, fragile creature, whose life was passing by incessantly, had defeated an opponent he had failed. Maddening anger rose in him as he had been unable to protect her while pressing his lips tightly together and closing his eyes. Livia's tear-streaming face in the arms of this vile man had burned into his memory. The vampire was unfamiliar with her power, yet he had great respect for what she had done and planned to speak to her about it in due course.

When Livia moved, he noticed with some surprise that he was lost in thought and had tenderly touched her head. With furrowed brows he pulled his hand back and after a short hesitation, held it to his nose to better absorb her scent. His intention to prefer loneliness seemed ridiculous to him, while the vampire recalled the encounter between them, when the roles were reversed and Livia was laying in bed.

She seemed to be afraid of men, which was not surprising given her past and recent events. The same was true for his vampiric appearance after the transformation and yet she confronted him and vouched for her ideals. Livia handled her feelings openly and directly, which made it easier for him to understand her, even though her statements during a confrontation could be hurtful.

She was different from her.

Her smell, her appearance, her way of acting, her body and her complete being.

He wanted to stay with her, be close to her, be there for her and further develop their friendship. Unconsciously, she had managed to affect him. Livia was right at that time with her statement in the hunting lodge that the actions of a single individual should not be transferred onto all others.

Green eyes looked at him sleepily, before they widened in disbelief with surprise, the exhaustion blown away.

"Dettlaff!"

Livia straightened up while her features strained with concern. The long uncombed hair curled around her body, with a few unruly strands of hair caught in her face, while her voice took on a quivering undertone.

"How are your wounds? Are you still in pain?"

Torn from his thoughts, the vampire had to blink several times in response to the young woman's strong reaction, while a warm feeling of comfort spread within him before he started to respond. "They are already completely healed. More important is the state of you."

The blonde haired woman squinted her eyes, which were marked by conspicuous rings, and looked at the man searchingly. She did not seem to be very convinced of the truth of his statement. With a serious expression she stood up without further ado and pulled the blanket away, only to press on the affected parts of his body while she looked at the man with a stern glance.

He had not expected such an offensive interaction, while his confused look drifted from Livia to Regis, who appeared shortly after their conversation. A slight smile surrounded his lips as he approached the bed and paused beside Livia.

"As I have assured you several times before, our friend has recovered from his injuries and should be on his way to recovery. As vampires, we have the valuable property that no other being is able to mortally wound us, even though the regeneration can take some time after a fight, as I have already explained to you with an example from my own past." Thereupon he cleared his throat embarrassed.

Ignoring the attempt of the vampire to cheer her up, the alchemist left Dettlaff and sank with a sigh back onto the stool. The old piece of furniture creaked softly while the younger vampire watched Livia's features relax under the soft candlelight. With an expectant rubbing of his hands, Regis sat down on the edge of the bed before staring at the two of them with a questioning look.

"I would now be very grateful if you could enlighten me about the recent events. A confrontation seems to have taken place, which fortunately ended happily. Perhaps we should start with the moment when you", he looked at Livia, "left the cemetery."

The addressed woman told about her trip to Beauclair, not mentioning the trip to the toy store. Regis nodded at regular intervals and occasionally uttered an "Hm" or "I see." When Livia ended with the fight against Sebastion, her voice trembled slightly during this part of the story, the elderly vampire seemed extremely thoughtful and then remained silent for a long time. Dettlaff had mutely listened to her story and was now waiting in suspense for the grey-haired vampire's reaction.

Deep in thought, Regis stroked his chin at regular intervals before he began to ask a question. "What was this man's name again?"

Livia's eyes darkened before she answered in a low voice, "Sebastion Morel."

"Could you please describe his physical appearance to me?"

As far as Livia was able to, she described the appearance of this man and also mentioned his extreme physical strength and his magic abilities.

" Very interesting," Regis replied in a neutral voice to the summary.

"I've heard that name before, but a very long time ago. Centuries, to be precise."

Neither Livia nor Dettlaff dared to interrupt Regis and waited impatiently for his explanations.

"Your description regarding his appearance fits, but differs from the person I know in some details. He was a doctor and together we did some research at the academy in Oxenfurt. Sebastion stood out because of his lack of physical endurance, but why most people really avoided him was his focus, rather his obsession, in a special field of research.

Over the centuries, some groundbreaking discoveries in the science of medicine have been made, which I witnessed at the hour of its birth, and which have become indispensable in modern times. However, it has not always been possible to balance the usefulness of research with people's basic moral understanding. An advance into the unknown always requires a certain amount of tribute. If one wants to understand a body, it must be viewed from all angles, this naturally also applies to the inside of the body. In order to be able to fully understand the vital functions, it is, for example, essential that the individual being studied is alive and remains so during the course of the research.

Our paths separated already after a foreseeable time, which was not too surprising. My focus has always been on the physical healing of the patient, whereas Sebastion had concentrated on the psychological level. He was firmly convinced that most physical complaints could be eliminated by stimulating the brain. It should be noted at this point that he was a man of action.

Conversations with the patients were out of the question for him as an impulse for healing, rather he pursued a highly invasive approach to solving the problem. I must admit that at that time this theory had an extremely visionary effect on the majority of practicing medical doctors. However, after a few practical experiments, even a non-professional should have noticed that this methodology was massively negligent and, moreover, did not produce any evaluable results."

Livia listened spellbound to the vampire's monologue, but when the topic of the invasive intervention on the brain was taken up, she felt a wave of fear swell up in her body, which embraced her stomach with an icy grip. Her voice was little more than a whisper when she asked Regis her interposed question.

"What exactly has he done?"

"Well, I doubt the term lobotomy will mean anything to you?"

When the addressed person merely shook her head in silence, Regis continued in a matter-of-fact tone: "In order not to bore you with unnecessary medical expertise, I will come straight to the point. It is an operation in which the nerve pathways between the thalamus and the frontal lobe and parts of the grey matter are severed.

However, before he had improved this procedure, he tried several other variations, such as simply opening the top of the skull and wetting the affected areas with alcohol. However, this method turned out to be extremely imprecise, as the liquid naturally spread to other areas. I".

Livia raised her hand with a disgusted, contorted face to interrupt Regis. "I think I can roughly imagine what this RESEARCH looked like."

Regis looked at her with compassion. "I assure you that I was not involved in such seemingly barbaric research, even if, admittedly, it had a certain appeal, it seemed too speculative and hardly target-oriented to me.

Sebastion however, despite the negative results, saw things differently and wrote various folios on this topic. One of his most famous works is -Regeneration begins in the head- and is, as coincidence would have it, to be found in the library of the Oxenfurt Academy. By the way, have you read my letter yet?"

Livia's head was literally overflowing with thoughts. It was too much information with an insufficient number of clues. If Regi's story was true, Sebastion was an ordinary person with little physical strength, who was only infatuated with the medical field. However, since this was several centuries ago, this meant that someone else had introduced himself under this name. What was the point of this? Was this madman a supporter and proponent of this field of research? Despite his inhuman strength, she had defeated him, which brought her straight to the next question.

"And how do you understand this term -divinitus electus sanguis excogitatoris-? It visibly amused him that I was unable to understand this description. Sanguis means blood, which could be an indication of my offensive reaction to Sebastion."

Thoughtful wrinkles formed on Regi's forehead as he leaned back slightly. "I must confess I'm not familiar with this description, and with all due modesty, it seems rather pretentious."

Dettlaff narrowed his eyes and looked at his blood brother sincerely: "He did not treat Livia like a normal hostage. This man was out for death and destruction and yet he did not harm her. He seemed to want to protect her from me. Why? What does this term mean?"

Regis nodded in agreement before continuing: "Roughly translated, I would say that it could mean God's chosen blood-former. Livia," he turned to the young woman again, "as you already know, we are immortal."

The blonde-haired woman nodded hesitantly as she didn't know what Regis was getting at.

"There is no God. That's why this statement seems rather exaggerated to me. The use of allegorical representations strongly reminds of religious writings. An extremely striking description of a simple process to convince a certain kind of person of the content and to convert to faith. Therefore, I would ignore anything supernatural and only consider the part of the blood former as relevant. Could you demonstrate your ability?"

"No!"

Surprised by the intensity of this unexpected outburst, both Livia and Regis gazed questioningly at Dettlaff. "She would have to hurt herself to obtain her blood. After what happened, Livia should recover a little."

Regis looked at his friend with a sharp look. Livia was visibly uncomfortable in this oppressive silence and slipped restlessly back and forth on her stool before speaking up. "I couldn't use my ability right now anyway"

Regis raised one eyebrow and watched the young woman with interest as she continued to examine the injury on her wrist:

"I've been in an extreme situation twice. The first time when these disgusting men had sneaked up on me. My head started to hum and I felt, for a short moment, really dazed. The second time was with Sebastion. I...", she faltered briefly and gave Dettlaff a sad look before she lowered her head in humiliation and stared at the ground.

"I wanted it all to stop. After all, it was my fault that I was naive enough to offer my help to a stranger and thus finally got into this situation. I called Dettlaff for help and tried to find a way to avoid unnecessary bloodshed. I think the result speaks for itself."

Dettlaff's deep voice made her look up. "It's not your fault. Many people lie to achieve their goals. But a friend said to me that you can't blame all individuals for the mistakes of just one."

Livia looked into the vampire's ice-blue eyes and was unable to respond in any meaningful way. They had only known each other for a short time, yet she knew with absolute certainty that he would protect her from anything and everything, no matter who or what the opponent was.

Wild. Unbridled. Unconditional.

The natural reaction to such extreme characteristics would have been fear towards this being, but instead a pleasant goosebump spread over her entire body, mixed with a portion of joyful excitement, before she inwardly scolded herself for this state of mind. She would never make the mistake of reducing him merely to his inhuman powers, ignoring his personality.

Regis rose silently from the bed, with an inscrutable expression on his face, and tore Livia from her thoughts with his movement. "I'll check on the potion shortly. If you need my help, don't hesitate to call me."

Silence filled the room as Livia turned to Dettlaff again. Her slender fingers plucked at each other as she noticed her increasing nervousness. " Do you really feel no more pain?"

"Yes."

"You", she paused for a moment, as she had not expected such a monosyllabic answer and was thinking about how to continue. After an embarrassed clearing her throat she started again, feeling more confident. "Just before Sebastion's attack, you said something to me in Nilfgard language. Would you tell me the meaning of those words?"

Dettlaff sat down at the edge of the bed to get closer to her and looked at her incessantly and with a serious expression. "I have said that I forgive you."

They sat facing each other in silence. Livia did not dare to spoil the moment with a movement, nor a reply. Was she wrong or did his eyes take on a warm expression?

"My brave friend."

She noticed under his intense look, an increasing heat reddened her cheeks and turned her gaze away in the vague hope that the vampire would miss this embarrassing reaction.

"I couldn't help you. You had to kill humans for me and were badly wounded. It does not matter that you cannot be mortally injured by humans! Nevertheless you feel the same pain as I would if I had a physical wound. If I had," the young woman obviously struggled for the right word, because her mind still refused to recognize her new discovered ability, " supernatural power used earlier, you would have been spared all this suffering. Finally, Regis came in the last moment and gave you his blood for regeneration. I couldn't do anything on my own."

"You killed Sebastion. Isn't that enough for you?"

Livia pressed her lips firmly together. "At what cost? Your wounds, they were..." The young woman tried to repress the visual memories of this event and did not manage to finish the sentence.

"You offered me your blood."

"Yes, and shortly afterwards, Regis came. He took care of you and brought you here."

She felt his cool hand under her chin before he forced her with gentle pressure to look into his ice-blue eyes. This gesture seemed all too familiar to her, while her thoughts were literally overflowing.

"You're afraid of men." His voice was calm when making this statement.

Both her heartbeat and her breath accelerated and seemed to be unnaturally loud in her ears. As the vampire cautiously approached her face, his distinctive scent enveloped her. Beside a note unknown to her, it smelled exotic and reminded her distantly of the tonka beans from Nazair. She could only too well imagine this man in this hostile climate.

"Why do you not shun my touch?"

Dettlaff's deep voice had the same gentle and calming effect on Livia as his touches. How could she ever consider this man a monstrosity? He was the most sincere being she had ever met. Her belly contracted almost painfully with excitement, while paradoxically there was a pleasant clarity in her head, which she had missed almost painfully in the last few days, whereupon she countered with a mischievous smile on her lips.

"Why do you now prefer my company over solitude?"

They could now feel each other's breath while their playfully fight continued. Her heartbeat stopped for a moment as Dettlaff's iris turned white and he took a deep breath to fully absorb her lovely scent again. His fangs became visible and Livia thought she could feel his claws on her skin.

She was now sitting in front of a vampire who never let her out of his sight. Ignoring the negative memories of her previous encounters with Dettlaff, she examined the strange appearance of the immortal being. He only possessed certain basic human attributes. His emotional expression in his eyes stood in contrast to his bestial appearance and touched the young woman.

With a subdued voice he replied: "Would you still offer me your blood?"

"Yes." Her answer was little more than a gentle breeze. Dettlaff surrounded her with a powerful, animalistic aura, which could not be described by words and which literally cast a spell over Livia.

She felt with excitement how his claw moved up her cheek while he paused with the tip of one of his extended claws, at the level of her ears. A light pressure or a careless movement would be enough to slit her skin at this point. Yet she did not retreat and continued to withstand his gaze.

With a fluid movement he pushed the dishevelled hair over her shoulder before breaking eye contact and approaching her neck.

Her body shook and she reached for his elbow with a trembling hand. The feeling of being completely at the mercy of the vampire and the sharp fangs on her neck was strange for the young woman. Never before had she let anyone come so close to her willingly, not to mention had she ever considered offering her blood to a vampire without a fight. She squeezed her eyes tightly together and waited for the yet unknown pain as the pressure on her neck steadily increased.


	13. Something ends, something begins

Oh, my God! I did it! The next chapter is finished and I really enjoyed writing 😊. Since the university is closed due to the Corona crisis and everything is only done online, it was quite a change for me. But slowly I get into the new everyday life and start with my hobbies again 3

How are you? I hope you are/stay healthy and the story manages to put you on more pleasant thoughts.

About feedback of any kind I would be very happy ! :)

Best regards

Your Salaka_chan 3

Something ends, something begins

Livia's body shook with excitement when she felt the vampire's surprisingly warm hand at the back of her head. His fingers gently stroked her delicate scalp and curled hair before he wrapped her hair around his fist and with a firm pull made the young woman throw her head backwards.

Confusion spread throughout her as she could no longer feel the presence of the fangs on her neck. The fact that she felt fingers instead of claws did the rest. But before the blonde could react to these changes, she noticed his cool breath against her ear.

"I'm sorry. I almost did something unforgivable."

His deep voice was muffled and it seemed difficult for him to withdraw from her. Although the vampire was now back in his human form in front of the young alchemist, his eyes still had their white hue, while his hands almost painfully embraced her upper arms. With astonishment Livia was struck by the realization that instead of a liberating relief, an inexplicable disappointment spread through her mind, making her blush in shame.

With a tensed jaw, Dettlaff continued:

"If Regis hadn't appeared in time, I would have accepted your offer without hesitation. Your blood, it...", he struggled visibly for words.

Livia took advantage of this interruption and probably shook her head.

"I wanted to help you and I'd offer it again anytime!"

Dettlaff made an agonizing sound and his facial features hardened before he released his grip from her and rose from the bed. With a few big steps he put a certain distance between himself and the young woman while he grabbed his chin.

"You cannot even slightly imagine what effect your blood on the open wound had on me. It's not just its smell, it has something... It makes me want to taste it and possess it. It's beguiling and makes me forget everything. I become the monster that I am and I want to forget all further thoughts of restraint."

It took Livia a moment to process that statement. Was he trying to justify himself to her for being a vampire? It sounded extreme. As the next question popped into her head, her fingers began to shake. Uncertain, she looked at the vampire.

"Is my presence for you," she paused briefly before continuing, "unpleasant? Were you uncomfortable in my presence the whole time?"

The vampire drove off like she was scolding him.

"No! It's," the vampire turned his back to her and drove helplessly through his hair. It was obvious he was struggling for the right words and was desperately trying to describe his problem. He paced restlessly up and down before he stopped and looked at Livia.

"Your blood smells special. But its smell at the open wound was much more extreme than in everyday life. I do not understand. Even now, at this moment, the scent is extremely restrained and is only subliminally noticeable at close proximity. Up to now I have never met any being that had such an effect on me. I... I don't know how to handle it." Resigned, the vampire averted his gaze.

Livia had to resist the strong urge to put her own hand under her nose. It was obvious that she would not notice anything conspicuous. Usually you can only smell yourself if you haven't washed yourself for a long time and even then, this scent does not describe your own body odor as others absorb it. When the vampire stepped towards her again, she was torn from her thoughts and looked up at him.

"Your presence is not unpleasant to me. You are just... different."

The young woman blinked.

"However, I can understand if my behavior and that last statement repulsed you. I will keep my distance from you in the future, if that is your wish."

Although Dettlaff's voice had a neutral tone, his eyes reflected fear and sadness. Livia noticed that she had never seen the vampire in a relaxed state so far. He was always emotional and always seemed to be on guard, having to hide his true self from everyone else. The events in Beauclair and the betrayal of his partner seemed to have hit him extremely severely and did not help to improve these behavioral traits. Was he able to have fun with Syanna in the past? A détente full of joie de vivre seemed extremely strange to her, as she knew him only by his always vigilant expression. Only his eyes revealed what was going on inside him.

An oppressive silence filled the room. Livia was visibly overwhelmed by this unpredictable situation and struggled for the right words, while her mind still had to process the previous physical closeness. She convulsively tried to form a believable and expressive answer, which would guarantee to convince Dettlaff that she would not find him repulsive, but the impulsive vampire seemed to consider her longer silence already as an answer. The corners of his mouth suggested the hint of a joyless smile before he closed his eyes and turned away from her.

"I see."

With horror Livia watched Dettlaff's transformation into the all-too-familiar reddish mist that swept through the open window into the outside world. Stunned by the impatience of this man, she shook her head before she rose angrily and made her way to Regis. He was standing brooding in front of a cauldron full of a blue-broiling liquid, studying passages from an aging tome with drawn-up eyebrows. Scattered swaths rose from the cauldron and filled the room with a pleasantly sweetish scent. If he had noticed her presence, he did not show it.

The young woman crossed her arms in front of her chest and looked reproachfully at Regis: "Why is he so quick-tempered and impatient? He should take a lesson from you!"

Still absorbed into the book, Regis gave a gurgling laugh.

Livia's posture became noticeably tense. "Regis! It's not funny! Every time, really EVERY TIME we meet, it ends like this! I'm going crazy with him, differences or not!

With a barely audible sigh and a fluid movement, the addressed person slammed the book and placed it on the table next to the fireplace. Regis looked at her with an empathic look. "I can understand your frustration, my dear. Dettlaff can't be quite", the vampire hesitated briefly, "simple under certain circumstances.

The young woman snorted audibly. "Simple wouldn't be the first word that comes to my mind. I have never met anyone whose patience is so short. In conversations he doesn't even give me the chance to think. He expects an immediate answer and rashly interprets small gestures into something."

Regis slowly stepped towards her. "He hasn't had a very good experience with conversation in the recent past. Please keep in mind that Dettlaff is still a long way from socialization and it will take some practice to understand the behavior of you people. You are, at least on a psychological level, extremely complex, which brings with it a certain attraction to strive to understand you better. But only curiosity is not enough and our friend must learn this. To understand the spoken words are not sufficient in this case. Gestures, facial expressions and the quick assessment of certain character traits must be added."

Livia blinked confused. "That sounds extremely... complicated."

He was now standing in front of her when an understanding smile formed on his lips.

"So it is. For you this process is natural and you solve such interactions subconsciously without having to waste another thought on it. But for us this is completely foreign. Our natural behavior is quite different from yours, and in addition there is the permanent fear of revealing oneself with unconscious expressions and behaviors. You can never let yourself be carried away, the fear of the consequences is too great.

"But you have friends! Before them you can act the way you really are."

The smile on his lips remained, but in the black eyes a deep sadness appeared.

"My dear Livia. I appreciate your naive statement, but you should be aware that it is not true. If I were to turn into the blood-drinking monster I hide behind that facade in front of you, you would most likely back away from me."

The young woman wanted to contradict him, but Regis stopped her with a decisive gesture and continued speaking forcefully. "And justifiably so! It's natural to be afraid of beings that are much more powerful than you yourself are, and I must confess that our appearance doesn't contribute much to a better impression."

Livia looked at the worn floorboards for a short time before she turned her gaze back to Regis. "Yes, I am afraid of your vampire form, BUT I trust you! You have both saved me. From HUMANS! I don't know if I will ever be able to act without worries in the presence of your true form, but I will do my best to at least try. So if you prefer to stand in my workshop with slightly longer fingernails and teeth, feel free."

The eyes of the vampire widened before he grinned, revealing his unusually sharp teeth. "Thank you. However, potion-brewing requires a certain dexterity, which is why I prefer this shape for now."

A while passed, during which both stood opposite each other and smiled in silence. In the background, the fire crackled under the heavy cast-iron boiler, while the steam gradually faded away. The sweetish scent had an extremely calming effect and the soft candlelight immersed the room in a pleasantly warm, yellowish tone.

Livia sighed inevitably as the gentle wings of fatigue surrounded her. Out of the corner of her eye, in the flickering candlelight, she noticed Regis' letter on the table and slowly walked towards it. She skimmed the lines again before fixing the vampire. With a brief movement she pointed to the letter. "How did you come up with this idea?"

"May I answer with a question in return?"

Livia nodded and carelessly dropped the letter on the table.

"How did it feel to make the regeneration potion for Dettlaff?"

She hesitated because she had not expected such a question. "Well," she thoughtfully tapped her chin with a finger, "I think I was quite surprised at first. There is no doubt that your knowledge of alchemy is clearly superior to mine. I felt very insecure and was afraid to make mistakes in the preparation. The consequences could be disastrous for a mortal."

The older one nodded sympathetically. "Now that you knew in advance that this potion was meant for an higher vampire,"

" I could be a little more experimental." The young woman finished the sentence. "I certainly enjoyed rummaging through my father's scientific papers in his books. You always find something new. The variety of ingredients, instruments and working methods is almost overwhelming. But I fear that a single life will not be enough to internalize and apply it all."

Regis gurgled amused and stepped in front of the cauldron again to assess the condition of the potion. He seemed to be satisfied with the result and went on to Livia. "Well, I can only agree with this statement. The ingenuity of some people is immeasurable. Then wouldn't it be an advantage if extremely capable users of this field would teach you? You'd be able to complete your studies more quickly and satisfy your thirst for knowledge."

Livia's forehead lay in wrinkles as she thoughtfully watched the cauldron. "But you're forgetting a few details. First, I have to keep my parents' place running. Secondly, I don't have enough money in reserve to pay for my studies. Thirdly, I also need a place to stay and regular meals wouldn't be bad either. Last but not least I would have to get to Oxenfurt unharmed. Forgive me Regis, I really appreciate your letter of recommendation, but I'm afraid I'm too attached to this place."

„Would you like to expand your knowledge of alchemy?"

Livia moaned and shook her head. "II take it back. You're as pushy as Dettlaff. He won't let me finish my sentences and you just skip over them. I said I," Livia stopped her sentence when the vampire stood right in front of her and stared at her with a piercing look.

While Dettlaff's blue eyes almost overflowed with emotion and allowed a glimpse into the depths of his soul, Regis' black eyes were purely animalistic. He mastered the knowledge necessary to coexist in human society, but he was much harder to see through than the black-haired man. The thoughts of this man were unfathomable. Were he not her friend, she would truly be afraid of this being.

With a serious face, the vampire asked her again. "Would you like to expand your knowledge of alchemy?"

She swallowed hard. "Yes, but"

"Then it is decided."

With her mouth open she stared at the grey-haired man. He cleared his throat in embarrassment and Livia thought she noticed a slight reddish tinge on Regi's cheeks. "Excuse me. Perhaps I was a bit too pushy for a moment. But I assure you that the concerns you expressed will not be of great consequence regarding this project."

The blonde-haired woman sat down powerlessly on the chair next to Regi's borrowed workplace and stared at the opposite wall. She noticed the cobwebs above the old bookshelves and she clicked her tongue disapprovingly.

"As far as your financial worries are concerned, you can rest easy. Thanks to my letter of recommendation, you'll get a scholarship to the Oxenfurt Academy. In addition to free admission to the lectures, you will also get a room in a student dormitory. Furthermore the witcher recommended me a certain Rudolf de Jonkheer. He is a financier and sells me a real estate in Novigrad for a special price. The distance between the cities can be covered relatively quickly on a horse, so this house would make an excellent weekend residence and study place. With Dettlaff as a companion, you should arrive safely at your destination and he gets the opportunity for more interaction with people. I'd say everyone would benefit."

The mass of information was almost overwhelming for the young woman. She had never before had to discuss problems with Regis. He always seemed to have a very frugal nature. This unforeseen persistence stood in great contrast to her previous impression. However, the last few days everything seemed to be different than she had previously thought.

She started a last weak attempt of resistance. "This still doesn't clarify what to do with my parents' shop. Besides, Dettlaff left as a depressed cloud to happily wallow in his loneliness."

Regis laughed in amusement after her last sentence. "This little cloud already regrets its hasty decision and will probably appear again in the next few hours to apologize for the emotional outburst."

Now Livia also had to laugh out loud. "The connection between blood brothers seems to be really convenient in certain situations."

"I agree with you. Regarding the first point. I would recommend you to send a letter to your parents, in which you simply describe the current situation. A friend has made a recommendation for you and you are moving to Oxenfurt for a period of time for studies. This friend will also provide an adequate replacement for your absence. If there are any financial difficulties, I will be happy to help out."

"You only mentioned Dettlaff. Why don't the three of us travel together?"

"I would like to arrive in Oxenfurt before you, to settle all necessary formalities. When you enter the academy, ask for lecturer Hubert Rejk. I would also like to practice as a doctor at the academy myself."

In disbelief, Livia raised an eyebrow. "You'll be my teacher?"

Regis leaned against the table and crossed his arms. "I guess this case is rather unlikely. I'd rather pursue research than teach. My character traits are not ideal for a teaching position."

Livia could no longer hold back her tears with laughter.

"Thank you, Regis! for everything. You always manage to cheer me up."

A mischievous grin lay on the lips of the grey-haired man. "And luckily, this time without alcohol. I'd advise you to keep your hands off the bottle when you travel with Dettlaff. Surely you wouldn't want to leave the wrong impression."

Livia's mouth formed an O-shape as she stared at the vampire with an incredulous look. " Regis! I knew it! What did I do at the cemetery?"

"Nothing to worry about."

She felt an uncomfortable warmth rising in her cheeks and bit her lower lip.

Regis then continued in a neutral tone, clearing her throat. "Besides, your story made me wonder. I think I should use the Academy library to research Sebastion Morel. There must be a connection between Sebastion's past and the current one. Unlike Dettlaff, I doubt that you killed him. It's not usual for people to crumble to dust. I'd like to be prepared for the worst-case scenario. You have already seen it, but I would like to emphasize at this point that Dettlaff is an extremely capable opponent. Not many can match him. All the less likely you have faced no ordinary man. And then there's your newfound ability."

Livia glanced up. "Dettlaff, he mentioned before that my blood", she faltered and did not know how to continue.

Regis' black eyes pierced her. Did she deceive herself or did his iris enlarge.

"Yes. Your blood is remarkable. Forgive me, I had no intention of eavesdropping."

Livia just shook her head to signal to him that she didn't mind.

"Still, unlike Dettlaff, I noticed something else. I'd like to check it out, if you'd allow me."

"Of course. What exactly do you want to check?"

Regis approached her and gently grabbed her wrist. He turned the underside of her hand upwards and cut into the uppermost layers of her skin with his thumbnail and precise accuracy. Isolated drops of blood collected along the cut and beaded down onto the floorboard. Livia's gaze lay as if hypnotized on Regi's face, while his eyes were now completely black and his features tense. He closed his eyes, audibly drawing in the air and paused for what felt like an eternity. When he opened them again, his eyes possessed their human look again and he dabbed the blood with a cloth.

"As I had already suspected. Your blood shows no abnormalities except for a slightly more distinctive smell. However, when I joined you shortly after the battle it was different. It seems that your blood changes when you use this, let's call it ability."

Pensive, he let go of the woman and threw the cloth into the fire under the cauldron. It flared up brightly for a moment before it faded again and crackled softly. "Dettlaff has already tried to describe this circumstance in more detail. An unbelievable attraction emanates from it. Once you give in to this desire, it is over. Now that you know at least one attribute of your ability, I would ask you not to offer your blood recklessly."

Indignation spread in Livia over this scolding. "It was and is not reckless! Dettlaff was hurt because of me. If there is a way to help him, I will do everything in my power."

Regi's voice took on a warning undertone and he articulated each of the following words very precisely. "So you would help an immortal to a faster regeneration and accept that he despises himself for the rest of his existence?"

Livia took a few steps back with big eyes. Her, "No." came hesitantly and she looked at her conversation partner uncertainly.

"But that is exactly what would be the consequence of this act. There is no guarantee that Dettlaff would have the strength to stop drinking in time. No human can even vaguely understand the thirst of a vampire. If he killed you, he could never forgive himself. I told you at the cemetery that Dettlaff has no use for drinking per se. He doesn't need it to survive and prefers not to hurt weaker creatures. He never even tasted Syanna's blood, despite the supposedly close bond. Trust me and do as I ask."

"I'm sorry. I guess I must have said something very rash in that case."

Regis placed a hand on her shoulder. "As you have already stated, we belong to different cultures. In this case, language is an extremely useful tool. You can educate the ignorant about their mistakes and hope they don't make the same mistake again."

Livia looked up at Regis and a shy smile lay on her lips. "Thank you."

On her bed piled up potential clothes for the upcoming journey. On the one hand, she wanted to have something suitable for every weather and on the other, she was simply a young woman after all. While packing, she hummed along cheerfully and occasionally left sentences like, "'Here in Novigrad, the capital of the world, the centre and cradle of culture. Here a bright head can breathe from a full chest!'".

On the stool next to her bed, in a tiny bag, Dettlaff's tools from the toy shop were stored.

She continued humming happily as she went to the shoe selection.

Furthermore, the corner of a new drawing block flashed treacherously out of the already mentioned bag for the vampire.

As Regis had announced, there was already a knock at the door the following evening. When Livia opened it, she looked into the man's familiar blue eyes, and a warm smile was drawn to her lips.

"Hello Dettlaff. Let's go on a journey together!"

She extended her hand to him, which he hesitantly took and entered the house together with her.


	14. The vastness of the ocean

The vastness of the ocean

It's Fluff Time 3

As always I wish you a lot of fun while reading :3

Your Salaka-chan

The cool evening breeze caused a pleasant goose bump on Livia's naked upper body. She closed her eyes, breathed in the fresh air and tried to enjoy this moment to the fullest, while the warm waves of the lake continuously splashed against her thighs. The exhausting march through the mountains was already noticeable after the last two weeks, but she wouldn't give herself in the exposure and agree with the vampire afterwards. Dettlaff criticized her decision to travel without a horse or an equivalent form of transport. The young alchemist herself already saw this journey as a phase of training and study. They had to cover a long distance on foot and would cross different areas whose natural habitat, that of Toussaint, was in no way similar. In Livia's eyes, this was ideal. On the one hand she could help people on their way to Oxenfurt, on the other hand she had the unique opportunity to admire plants in their natural environment, which were unknown to her until now, and to record them in her journal.

However, the young alchemist was plagued by a guilty conscience, as she only had 5 months left until the beginning of the semester and, driven by curiosity, preferred to move through the country rather than continue her parents' business reliably. She fervently hoped that the hired help from Regis would keep the business running during her absence.

With a sigh she dived into the mild water and enjoyed the brief weightlessness.

Despite her hair being tied up, her tunic was quickly soaked by the numerous drops of water in the upper part. The dense linen fabric stuck to her body and with an annoyed sigh she stepped closer to the camp for the night. From the distance she heard the muffled chirping of the birds, while the campfire immersed the nearby surroundings in a warm light. The burning wood made crackling noises and occasionally a spark strayed into the area outside the fireplace. The embers glowed for a moment in the grass before they went out and a small wisp of grey smoke rose into the air.

Livia blinked for a short time as the vampire stepped out of the shadow and settled down elegantly on a tree stump. With his blue eyes fixed on her, he waited for her further approach. They had been traveling together for two weeks now, but the vampire's unrestricted attention and his offensive directness were still very irritating for Livia. This behavior, ... he, Dettlaff, upset her. She cleared her throat before she covered the last distance and made herself comfortable on a larger foundling.

Uncertainly, Livia let her gaze wander over the dark treetops while she put a lost, wet strand of hair behind her ear. "It is so quiet around us. I must confess that this is still a little strange to me." Right after her thoughtless statement she bit her lower lip.

"Hmmmmm." A joyless laugh lay on Dettlaff's lips as he bent forward slightly. "You get used to a lot of things when you have enough time."

"But you don't have to get used to everything!" Unintentionally her voice had taken on a defiant undertone.

"My kind do not belong in this world. It is only natural that the indigenous creatures keep their distance from us."

Livia knew that he would not give in on this issue and paradoxically he was still here. With her.

"But not everyone keeps their distance from you."

Dettlaff inspected her. He was visibly indecisive as to what he should reply to her statement.

The young woman averted her gaze and spotted the smaller pile of wood next to the fireplace. She made a surprised sound and jumped up excitedly. With brisk steps she approached the pile and pulled out a somewhat bulkier branch and held it out to Dettlaff with a demanding look.

"If you restore dolls, I'm sure you'll know how to carve, right?"

The abrupt change of topic seemed to confuse the vampire for a short time, he frowned thoughtfully before nodding hesitantly. "Yes, with the right tool I could shape it into something."

The young woman smiled at him and threw the branch to Dettlaff with a movement from the wrist. She unerringly went to her luggage and pulled out the tools she had from the toy store in Beauclair and stepped in front of the black-haired man. His eyes narrowed: "Where did you get that?"

She scratched her cheek in embarrassment and noticed that it reddened. She remembered the picture of Syanna with the moustache she had added and she had to refrain from laughing. "Well, in addition to my Beauclair shopping spree, I spontaneously had a property inspection." The young alchemist cleared her throat before continuing. "The owner was not to be found and the items inside the building seemed no longer needed and therefore..." With a mischievous smile she handed Dettlaff the tool.

The corner of Dettlaff's mouth twitched and amusement was reflected in his blue eyes. " Regis."

With a laugh, Livia settled down on the mossy erratic block again, relieved that she had found a way to change the initially depressing subject. "Yes! I guess if he didn't get involved in other people's business, he'd have to walk up and down the walls in boredom."

Thoughtfully, the vampire looked at the piece of wood.

In order not to pull him out of his creative phase, Livia took out one of her books and continued reading where she had left off last time.

"Regeneration is the ability of an organism to replace lost parts

Plants are able to do this, but so are many invertebrates such as various cnidarians, ascidia, flatworms, etc. Among vertebrates, the ability to regenerate organs and tissue has been largely lost. Amphibians such as the newts or axolotl are partly able to regenerate lost limbs, eyes and also parts of internal organs. The ability of some reptiles, such as lizards, to shed their tails at a predetermined breaking point by muscle contraction and then to regrow (in reduced form) is also rather rare among vertebrates.

In arthropods, the ability to partially replace lost body parts during the next shedding of skin is widespread. In each case, one piece more is replaced per flaying than in the previous flaying, so that if a sufficiently large number of flaying occurs, body parts can also be completely replaced. However, the number of moults is limited in some groups of arthropods (e.g. insects), so that in these cases no further regeneration is possible after the last, often imaginal, moult."

Thoughtfully, she frowned. To what species should she count vampires? Their regenerative ability could not be compared to any of the creatures listed. To create a healing potion to accelerate the regeneration for a vampire proved to be extremely complicated if the goal was to optimize and adapt it.

She breathed out thoughtfully, loudly through her nose and rubbed her eyes in exhaustion. When she stood up and put the book aside, Livia yawned and realized that Dettlaff was absorbed in his work. It was a cloudless night and the moon was shining out with its faint glow. Dettlaff's eyes rested on the wood while he carved with routine movements, lips pressed tightly together in concentration. The outer bark of the branch had been almost completely removed and the scattered chips gathered between his legs. Livia's curiosity grew immeasurably, as she could not yet see what Dettlaff wanted to model.

With a warm smile she turned away and lay down on her prepared resting place to sleep, her back turned to the fire. After a short time she heard the now familiar rustle as the vampire approached to her. The weight of his black leather coat on her body was pleasant, while the garment was still warming her after the campfire had gone out during the night. Since the beginning of her journey, he did this every evening, always taking care not to lie within her sight while doing so. Was he afraid of a possible negative reaction? Happy with his care, she nestled her cheek against the warm inside of the cloak and slipped into a sweet dream that brought the smell of tonka beans.

During their march, Livia often questioned the vampire about his home. Nazair was completely foreign to her and she only knew stories from books or travelers' tales about it.

He obviously seemed to like her interest, as he answered her questions with sparkling eyes and extremely enthusiastic. Contrary to her expectations, Dettlaff turned out to be a very pleasant travelling companion and for Livia the time spent together flew by. She was pleased to see that the vampire slowly opened up to her and hesitantly gave up his permanent attentiveness.

"You.. hffffff, will you tell me, hffffffffff, that hfffff", the young woman paused to catch her breath. She took a deep gasp and then threw her head back. Sweat ran down her reddened cheeks and despite the hair being tied up, an unpleasant layer of sweat also formed on the back of her neck, while the vampire stood quietly beside her and showed no signs of exertion on the outside.

Oh Gods! She was even sweating between her buttocks! Simply disgusting. In such moments he truly seemed like a demigod to her. His physical endurance seemed inexhaustible to her, yet she appreciated that he always travelled with her in human form. He could also transform and fly relaxed to the next oppurtunity for a camp and save himself the long walk. Thanks to the entertaining conversations, however, she usually forgot about her physical shortcomings and usually enjoyed the best of moods during her journey. "So you mean to tell me that the Eretein Mountains are a barren desert region with a few mountains and apart from vampires, they are hardly inhabited by any other creatures. That sounds quite... ...boring."

Dettlaff tilted his head and examined her with narrowed eyes. "You were always surrounded by your family."

"Of course, but it's also about the environment münn wrient." The alchemist paused briefly, as the amused look of the vampire irritated her more than just a bit. He seemed to fight against laughter, so she flared her cheeks in indignation.

"Hey! I mean it! It's awfully dull when there's no variety of creatures."

"At first glance, it may seem boring, but I assure you it is not. Life is not limited to animals, humans and monsters. The earth, rocks and plants are part of it too. You humans have forgotten how to live in harmony with nature and to absorb its beauty."

Silence prevailed between the two and each hung on to their thoughts before Livia began: "I think I understand roughly what you are getting at. As progress was made, nature became more and more repressed." Livia looked around in surprise. "Am I wrong or do I hear the sound of water?"

"There should be a river ahead. Would you like to take a break?"

Livia nodded and set off visibly exhausted. Behind her, she heard Dettlaff clearing his throat before he uttered a "Mijn vriend" in a strikingly neutral voice. She had to smile and was more than grateful for the vampire's company. Besides, she would need a lot of practice before she would seriously incorporate some Nilfgardian terms into her sentences.

The water was pleasantly cold and stood in great contrast to the scorching hot midday sun. It was breathtakingly clear so that even in the middle of the river the stones on the bottom could be seen. Livia groaned in relief as the cool current worked against her calves. It was beyond her comprehension how Dettlaff could strut around during the day with his long-sleeved tunic and the striking coat in an unimpressed manner.

The vampire paused on the shore and watched her with crossed arms and an inscrutable gaze.

"Well?" She turned to him now. "Wouldn't you like to cool off a bit in the water?"

He blinked in surprise before continuing in a serious voice. "Temperatures have little effect on my body. I do not require cooling."

Livia looked at him with narrowed eyes before she turned away from him and enjoyed the longed-for cold with her eyes closed.

After some time she approached the shore and stopped abruptly. A panicked scream followed, which startled the vampire. In a fraction of a few seconds he transformed and red fog enveloped Livia as he regained his human form behind her. His facial features hardened due to the tension as he searched for the source of danger. The shoulders of the young woman began to shake. Uncertain, he grabbed her upper arm, but he was not to go any further.

Water splashed in all directions. The vampire was wet from head to toe and simply overwhelmed by the situation. "What?!"

Livia couldn't hold back her bright laughter any longer, while she jumped up and down like crazy in the river and splashed everything around her wet. The jerky movements loosened her topknot and the golden curls surrounded her petite body. Her cheeks reddened, a joyful laugh on her narrow lips and the pure joy of life shone in her eyes. Her wet clothes lay close to her body and left little room for imagination. Dettlaff completely forgot the fact that he was standing in the river completely soaked and took in the sight of this lovely creature. This young woman, Livia, had reawakened his curiosity about people. She embodied everything he longed for as an immortal being.

She made mistakes, was unreasonable, quick-tempered, occasionally shy, mostly self-confident, open, full of the joy of life and just..., he heard her fast heartbeat, HUMAN. He appreciated her honesty towards him and the fact that she treated him as one of her own.

Livia noticed the vampire was looking at her with an intense gaze. She paused irresolutely and looked into his light blue eyes. It surprised her every time anew how many emotions lay in them. She saw in them a longing, which was completely unknown to her in this form. Dettlaff was indeed a being of extremes and what she thought she saw in his eyes made her heart beat even faster. She was not with him out of pity. He had aroused her interest with his sincere and clumsy manner. The events of his past are partly tragic and inexcusable, but he did not deserve to suffer alone in seclusion. She wanted to show him that life has so much more to offer, even for an immortal.

While she continued to lose herself in his gaze, breathing heavily, she realized too late that the vampire was slowly approaching her. Smooth, his gaze resembling that of a hungry predator, he approached her and paused as her upper bodies touched. Livia shivered.

At first sight he might look like a human being, but on closer look the individual differences became apparent. He was significantly taller than most of the men she knew, besides the extraordinary smell, he was always surrounded by a powerful aura, his appearance was full of grace and made all the other beings appear plump, the huge hands with the prominent claws, the pronounced jaw with the mostly pointed teeth and the absence of the shadow.

These would be enough reasons to stay away from him and yet she undertook her journey together with him. His cool hand on her cheek created pleasant goose bumps on her body and reminded her of the moment in her atelier when she had offered him her blood for the second time. He bent down to her until only a few inches separated their faces.

His pleasantly deep voice was muffled as he continued to look her in the eyes. "You didn't answer my question last time."

Livia's head was empty, like every time he was near her. His touches were unexpectedly soft and always on parts of her body that did not represent her femininity. In her life so far, there was no male being whose proximity she would have wished for. The emphasis, however, was on so far. There was no rational thought to explain her desire.

Her eyes widened and she held her breath as he bent further forward and whispered directly into her ear. "I am not a patient being. The time has come for you to accept the consequences of your actions."

When he let go of her, the young woman was still standing frozen in the same place. Before she could react he crouched down and shoveled a load of water in her direction. A squeaking sound escaped her. She jumped up out of surprise and slipped on landing due to the moss layer in the river bed. Completely drenched she looked at Dettlaff.

Her eyes widened in disbelief as she saw the vampire laughing. How had she ever seen him as a monster? In front of her there was without a doubt one of the most powerful and deadly creatures of this planet and it laughed exuberantly with the impartiality of a child, forgetting the events of the recent past for a moment. Her heart took a leap before she joined in to the deep laughter. The water battle continued throughout the afternoon and was only occasionally interrupted by a conversation.

As evening approached, they decided to set up camp next to the river.

Livia's guilty conscience towards her parents was completely suppressed that evening and she was only happy about the good time she could spend together with Dettlaff. The bond of friendship became stronger and Livia was curious about the future development. Such a bond was completely foreign to her until now.

The vampire sat slightly bent forward near the campfire and continued to carve his work full of zest for action. Meanwhile, Livia skimmed over a few pages of her book about regeneration before her eyes closed with tiredness.

If her map was correct, they would come across an inn tomorrow. Full of surprise, Livia realized that she would miss the pleasant silence of the evening.

The coat was absent that evening, as it was hung around the campfire next to the other soaked clothes. Instead she snuggled up against the dark blue tunic, which unfortunately hardly smelled of tonka beans.


	15. No man's land

Yes, I'm still alive! This chapter has given me a tremendous joy in writing. I love to describe the interaction between Dettlaff and Livia. Slowly but steadily they approach each other and try to understand each other. As always, I wish you a lot of fun while reading and would be happy about any feedback.

Yours

Salka_chan

No man's land

Two months had passed. Livia paused briefly to breathe in the fresh air and enjoy the warm sunshine on her face after what felt like an eternity.

Velen was clearly not one of her favorite places. The smell of death and decay was mostly in the air and in combination with the rising temperatures and the rotting corpses caused an unpleasant knot in her stomach. The overwhelming mass of exposed corpses disturbed and shook her at the same time.

When she saw the first gallows at the border of Velen, she sharply breathed in and her nose started to burn. Her attentive companion did not miss the growing fear of the young woman, which is why he stroked her tenderly over her trembling shoulder. The bond of friendship had become increasingly strong during their journey together. There were several nights in which they listened to each other spellbound. Stories like echoes from the past, actions, feelings and attempts to explain themselves to the other person. Over time, the initially delicate weave developed into a strong bond of familiarity, so gentle approaches such as stroking over the shoulder were no longer unusual.

The young alchemist noticed already at the beginning of her journey that the vampire had difficulties in some cases to put his feelings into words and instead sought physical contact. She had to smile as she recalled a certain evening in her mind's eye.

She ended with Regis' helping intervention and gave a sigh of relief. The warm light of the campfire dispelled the eerie darkness of the night in its immediate vicinity and at the same time warmed the shivering young woman. The call of an owl resounded in the distance. Grinding her teeth, she had to admit to herself that she had clearly underestimated the large temperature fluctuations when planning her journey.

But the low ambient temperature was not solely responsible for the constant trembling of her body. During her narration she did not notice the gradual transition to a re-experience in which she had to face this situation again. She felt as if she was right in the middle of it and could almost feel the man's hard grip and the mossy forest floor beneath her. The curious accomplices, who let their lustful looks wander over the body of the then little girl. She felt some tears running down her cheeks and wrapped her arms firmly around her upper body.

The burgeoning rage of the vampire was literally tangible. To calm the situation she wiped her cheeks in a fidgety way and looked into Dettlaff's blue eyes. "It's... This is in the past, and I have learned from my mistakes."

His intense gaze rested on her as his jaw tightened. "Yet you made the same mistake again with Sebastion."

Her eyes widened in shock for a moment before she angrily grabbed her book and jumped up. In rage she hurled it towards the surprised vampire, who, however, had little trouble avoiding it.

"Yes! I have made the same mistake again!" Her voice trembled with unbridled rage. "Do you think I haven't thought about this for the past few weeks? That I have called you to me thoughtlessly? No! I despise myself for this stupid mistake! I despise all men! They're vile and want only one thing from women!" She could no longer hold back her tears. Slumped down, she grabbed herself by her shirt. "I despise my body! Strange men have touched it in places that..." She couldn't bring herself to finish the sentence.

" Livia." His deep voice barely more than a whisper. The one who was addressed startled and saw the vampire in front of her. Deep pain and unrestrained compassion were reflected in his eyes.

She swallowed heavily before answering with a soft whisper. "But most of all I despise myself for the fact that you were badly wounded because of me. And more than that, you killed for me." Livia averted her gaze. "I'm sorry."

" Livia." His voice was a little louder now. "I didn't mean to hurt you with my statement. I just wanted to ask you to be more careful in the future."

Hesitantly, she looked up at Dettlaff and realized that he more than regretted his chosen words at the beginning of this situation.

"Please forgive me. I'm not accustomed to using human language in such situations."

Livia now looked at him confused through her veil of tears. "What do you usually do in these situations?" Her voice was barely more than a whisper.

His hand paused just in front of her face, while different emotions were reflected in his eyes. He seemed to be indecisive about what to do next, before he asked her in a soft tone of voice, "May I?"

Not turning her eyes away from him she nodded slightly.

Tenderly he touched her cheek with his fingertips before he enclosed it with the palm of his hand. Livia felt goose bumps on her arms while the hairs on her neck were rising. Shortly afterwards he lifted his second hand and did the same on the other side of her face. Trembling, she looked into Dettlaff's eyes and absorbed his gentle touch. Compared to his imposing size she felt small and weak. Why did no environmental noise reach her ear? The wheel of time seemed to have lapsed into rigidity.

With his thumb he stroked her trembling lower lip. "Breathe," he whispered in a tense voice and she felt his cool breath on her face. Livia could not remember when she stopped her breathing. She took a breath through the slightly opened mouth and noticed her mind calming down. A feeling of comfort enveloped her, taking her completely, forgetting the fears of the past. Soft wings embraced and carried her into a state of weightlessness. Her spirit felt free and longing ecstatically for more of this sensation.

She closed her eyes and sighed with bliss as she cuddled her head tighter against one of his large hands. A sensual smile played around her lips. "Dettlaff, that's not fair."

Her euphoria was reflected in her chosen tone. When she opened her eyes again, she could not interpret the expression on Dettlaff's face.

" Aren't you allowed to be happy?"

"How do I know that this is really so? A few seconds ago, I almost broke down in grief. You influence my mind, suggesting it that it must be happy."

"You told me that friends should be there for each other. This is my way of helping a friend. Do you find it disgusting?"

The young woman thought briefly about his question. "No, but rather a bit scary. Is this still me talking to you now?"

He bent down to her until she felt his warm forehead on hers. "I can't change your personality, only to a certain extent increase or decrease your feelings."

Livia bit her lower lip. " Regis, he... he did it then, too, to prevent me from running away screaming and informing the people in the village that there is a vampire in the forest. Just like at the cemetery when...", she paused as Dettlaff approached her. One hand wandered around her narrow waist while the other rested protectively on the back of her head. The cold leather of his coat was soft, while the familiar smell of tonka beans enveloped her. Surprised, she noticed that his body radiated a pleasant warmth in waves. A feeling of unity overcame Livia. She lost herself completely in this embrace and let her mind go. When was the last time she had felt that protected? Before she could waste another thought on it, a pleasant groan escaped her and she pressed herself closer to the body of the vampire. It was less than three seconds before she realized what she had just done. Horrified by her own behavior, she wanted to get out of the intimate embrace, but Dettlaff only strengthened his grip around her petite body.

"Your life is far too short to waste it thinking about the past. Livia, your body is pure and flawless. Live in the present and do not let anything stop you from your plans. Live."

It was already in the late afternoon when they reached the small fishing village Oreton. On the sandy shore were all the boats of the local fishermen, which had been converted into stalls at short term. Surprised, Livia noticed the numerous garlands of flowers and the hustle and bustle of the inhabitants, which stood in stark contrast to the no man's land and the oppressive atmosphere of Velen. She glanced questioningly at the vampire, who just shrugged with his shoulders and with a movement of his head indicated that he wanted to see the lively goings-on from close up.

Children laughingly hopped around among the working adults, singing their traditional spring songs. The women's dresses were designed in striking colors and contained elaborately embroidered floral patterns. Livia's eyes started to glow at this merry scene. The festive mood of the people rubbed off directly on her and she clapped her hands in joyful excitement. "I think we'll leave some money here!"

The corner of Dettlaff's mouth hardly twitched at all while he looked down at her with an amused expression in his eyes. "You should consider that we still have a long way to go, Livia."

Annoyed, she threw her head back, twisted her eyes theatrically and waved off with a nervous hand movement. "Yes. I've been frugal so far. All the more we should get out of ourselves now! Come along! If you see anything that interests you, let me know." With these words she turned away from the vampire and disappeared into the hordes of people.

Surprised by the sudden drive of the young woman, he followed her in silence.

His facial features stiffened when Dettlaff realized that the last major gathering of humans he had been in was the Beauclair incident. Blinded by irrepressible hatred, unending grief and grueling loneliness, he set a large part of his pack against the people who lived there. The streets of the city smelled of fear and blood that night. Subconsciously, his gaze wandered to Livia's neck. Her long blonde hair was tied up, revealing her slender neck. The young alchemist's skin was very light in tone, making the blue of her veins stand out in some places. He briefly ran his tongue over his thin lower lip. He condemned the thirst for blood as both a low and reprehensible lust. Blood is not required by his kind for survival and serves only to satisfy the vampiric urge. Attacking and hurting the weaker ones was not in his personal nature.

The familiar bright voice tore him from his thoughts.

Livia examined the displayed goods of a stand and asked the salesman in a chatty tone: " Hello there. We are travelers on our way to Oxenfurt. Sir, can you tell us what festival is celebrated here?"

The person addressed laughed loudly and held his somewhat plump belly. "Girl, don't talk formally. There are no gentlemen here. We're simple fishermen and don't give a fuck about manorial tones." To underline his statement, he squeezed a nostril with his index finger, breathed out forcefully and a considerable amount of snot flew into the meadow in a high arc.

The young woman blinked in surprise.

"You two must come from far away if you do not know what is being celebrated here today. Does the term Belleteyn mean nothing to you? It is a fertility festival that begins at sunset on April 30 and ends at sunrise on May 1. It is also the traditional time to start or end a relationship." He threw a meaningful look at her. "Eating, drinking and Love is sort of the order of the day tonight. A leap through the bonfire at midnight is said to bring luck and fertility! Everyone is welcome to attend this spectacle!"

The trader leaned forward and demanded the young woman with a gesture of his hand to do the same. Conspiratorially, he looked at her before whispering in her ear. "Don't worry, I'm sure your father won't be able to take his eyes off some buxom women at the festival. Take advantage of this moment and then sneak away. You'll be surprised at the fine fellows who live in Oreton." He winked at her encouragingly and patted her shoulder firmly.

Her eyes now widened in surprise, she looked at the chatty trader without understanding. "Father?"

"Yeah, I guess you're lucky you have more of your mother in you. This serious face would otherwise be a deterrent to young men. Personally, I'd prefer the plague maid of the fyke isle."

With a grin he showed his yellowish teeth while pointing to the island in the distance. "Now, what can I do for you? For such a nice girl, I'd lower my prices a little. After all, today is a celebration of love!" This statement did not remain hidden from the other customers and joyful screeching resounded from all sides.

Livia was pushed away by a crowd of women eager to buy, which is why she could only wave back to the dealer in thanks.

Her shoulders were embraced by two large hands. Surprised, she laid her head back and looked into Dettlaff's tense face. The deep blue of his eyes stood out especially in the sunlight. She pursed her lips before she glanced at him shyly. "Yes, Father?"

One of his eyes twitched treacherously and the expression of his gaze betrayed a hint of amusement.

Before he could respond, the young woman continued with a pleading look: "Please let us participate in today's celebration. It's been a long time since I've witnessed such a spectacle, and together we could certainly enjoy it!"

His grip around her shoulders stiffened noticeably and he thoughtfully pressed his lips firmly together. "Hmmmm. I'm not sure this is a good idea."

She now turned to him with a sigh and put her arms to her sides. "Hey! You wanted to learn about the conventions of common society. This is a perfect opportunity! Besides, you are not alone in all this! I will be at your side the whole evening and keep all misfortune away from you. I promise. See me as a good luck charm."

Dettlaff never let her out of his sight. "What if I don't like it?"

"Then we'll pack our bags and go. It's that simple."

He puffed out the air audibly before nodding in approval. " I will hold you to your word."

Livia jumped out of joy. "Very nice! Let's have a funny evening. I already know where to start." She grabbed one of his hands and pulled him behind her. Without resistance, the vampire allowed her to lead him away from the hustle and bustle of the crowd and frowned in confusion. "What exactly are you up to?"

When she indicated to him to stop at the place assigned to him, she quickly replied: "Please wait here for a moment, I'll be right back."

The vampire's forehead was now completely wrinkled as he looked after the excited young woman. Shortly afterwards, however, his attention drifted to an island in the middle of the lake. It emitted a malicious aura with which it apparently tried to keep curious and onlookers at a distance.

In the meantime, Livia had reached the point of her interest. All kinds of sweets and pastries were offered for sale and the smell of fresh caramelized sugar enveloped the stand with an invisible sweet shell. Smiling, she looked at the assortment on offer and began to wonder.

During their journey together, a little game arose between the two of them, which was fought out with undisguised eagerness. It had begun during one of their nightly discussions around the campfire. She wanted to teach the vampire some principles of human thinking and behavior, while he also tried to explain his thoughts in detail. However, the course of the conversation ended unexpectedly on a personal level. Dettlaff showed a great interest in her, her likes and dislikes, and the young woman had the same reaction to the charismatic vampire. In the course of this dialogue, Livia came up with the idea of integrating this question and answer game into the everyday life of her journey. One of them expressed a wish, while the other one had to fulfill it as best as possible. The wish or request was to contain a question as a theme, what interests one of them about the other.

The smell of the sweets brought the young woman back into the busy life of reality. It was her turn to fulfill a wish made by Dettlaff. Two nights ago he had asked her what would make her happy. If he were human, she would have answered this question much more easily. Words would have been more than sufficient, but to him she wanted to answer this question with a gesture. After she had made up her mind, she paid for her shopping and made her way back, taking care to hide the surprise behind her back.

When he noticed her and turned towards her, she could not help smiling a little while her cheeks took on a slightly reddish tint.

The vampire did not seem to notice the people around him, as his intense gaze was focused solely on the young woman. As she stood in front of him, he tilted his head to catch a glimpse of her hands behind her back.

Involuntarily the image of a big fluffy bat came into her head, hanging upside down on a branch and also tilting its head in curiosity. In the background one could briefly hear the sound of an owl echoing over the forest. Livia laughed out loud, which caused Dettlaff to bend his head even further and narrow his eyes.

"Don't cheat." Livia needed a short moment to catch herself before she continued talking. "I have a little surprise for you, but you have to do exactly as I say. Do you trust me?"

An almost childlike curiosity appeared in the blue eyes of the man. "What am I supposed to do?" From his deep voice a euphoric undertone could be heard.

Full of joyful expectation she bit her lower lip slightly. "I would like you to bend down a little and close your eyes."

For a brief moment she thought that he would not grant this wish, before he hesitantly closed his eyes and approached her.

"Now please open your mouth a bit."

His jaw tightened as he drew his eyebrows in confusion. However, when he complied with this request, the sharp fangs of the vampire immediately revealed to the young woman. She had to resist the irresistible urge to nudge them curiously with her fingers and check them for sharpness. Instead, she pulled out the sweet bun , broke off a bite-sized piece of it and carefully pushed it into his mouth. She briefly touched his lower lip with her finger and was surprised to find that it was pleasantly soft.

Dettlaff sharply sucked in the air during this short touch. Embarrassed, she pulled back her hand and watched him with undisguised interest. When he opened his eyes, they moved to the opened sweet bun .

A gentle smile lay on her lips. "You asked me a few days ago what would make me happy. The little attentive gestures in everyday life bring a smile to my face. I love sweets, but it is much more fun to share them with someone else. The same goes for moments when I am scared, for example, and you put your hand on my shoulder to calm me down. You probably feel the same way about this. I hope I could answer that question satisfactorily for you?"

The vampire stared at her with an indefinable look. "I thank you for that answer and for giving so much thought into it. I am happy with small gestures in my daily life too. Especially those in which your humanity emerges." Amused, he looked down on her.

"Hey! What exactly do you mean by that?!"

He bent down to her again and smiled slightly. "Do you really want to waste your wish on a question like that?"

Uncertain, she took a few steps back. At the beginning of her journey she feared that the vampire would be an unpleasant and silent travel companion. These suspicions were nullified, as was her prejudice that the man had no sense of humor.

She gave the black-haired man a challenging look. "No. I will take some time for my next wish. In the meantime, I would like to do something else with you."

Confidently he approached her closer and crossed his arms in front of his upper body. "I am curious about what will happen next."

Wolfishly she grinned at him. "Do you know Gwent? At every feast a round must be played. I LOVE to bet high and it makes me INSANELY happy to win. Losing is not an option for me in this game!"


	16. You'll never pass on a round of Gwent!

You'll never pass on a round of Gwent!

The flute player danced to the sassy melody of the current song passage, while the colorfully dressed lute player plucked the strings of his instrument with unexpected swiftness. Tightly clad women swayed their hips to the beat of the song in sweeping movements and occasionally bent forward to allow the onlookers a deeper insight into their charming neckline.

In the front area was mostly a male audience, which shouted explicit remarks to the entertainers and applauded loudly. One of the dancers approached with confident steps and sensual hip movements one of the bawling men and pushed him playfully to the floor. He gave in to her without resistance and looked longingly at her body, while the dancer smugly curled her lips to an arrogant grin.

The tempo of the flute playing was increased. She moved closer to him before she touched his chin with her index finger and forced him to look directly into her eyes. Lasciviously she licked her lips before turning around and bending forward with a surprisingly graceful movement to present her scantily clad behind to the man. Playfully she wiggled her hips, the lower halves of her butt cheeks flashing out before the man slapped her buttocks hard with his flat hand. The mob roared as the woman stood upright again and playfully rebuked the man for his behavior, before she joined the other dance members again and continued the program, wearing a visible red hand mark on the affected area.

Livia had watched the vulgar performance of the female sex with drawn-up eyebrows and was dismayed to discover that she was more than envious of the size of the bust of each lady. With lips pressed tightly together, she tried to squint as unobtrusively as possible at her upper body, but due to the tension, the discreet base of a double chin became apparent. In addition, she narrowed her eyes angrily at the sight of her small bosom. The amused look of the vampire escaped her.

After a while Livia crossed her arms in frustration in front of her petite upper body and looked at Dettlaff in a searching manner. "Do you like this performance?"

The addressed man tilted his head slightly and looked down on her almost presumptuously. "What exactly am I supposed to like?" The pleasantly deep voice contained a teasing undertone, while his striking blue-grey eyes attentively patterned her face.

Livia noticed an unpleasant heat rising in her cheeks and did not know how to react to this obvious challenge. Embarrassed, she cleared her throat before she pointed with a sweeping gesture of her hand at the musicians and the women dancing in the foreground. "Well... All of that." The young woman had to swallow hard, as she had difficulty withstanding his intense gaze.

The corners of the vampire's mouth twitched treacherously before he turned completely towards her and now, with arms also crossed, gave Livia an amused look. "I guess I must disappoint you in two respects. Firstly, the music is too primitive for me and secondly, the human body is too unattractive for me to enjoy it."

The green eyes of the young woman were widened in surprise before she frowned in confusion. "I do not understand."

"The human body is weak, prone to disease, ages and has nothing in common with my kind."

She had not expected this answer. The alchemist gasped audibly for breath and stared at Dettlaff with open mouth in disbelief. Insecurity overcame her. To her knowledge, the incident in Beauclair happened because his HUMAN lover had betrayed him, which in turn led her to the question of how vampires define and live out a romantic relationship. Both Dettlaff and Regis usually took their human form, which is why she implied that their image of love life was similar to that of humans. Do vampires only love on a platonic level and generally prefer partners of their own kind? The short life span of humans would indeed be a very big disadvantage in this respect.

She blinked just before she made an attempt to change the subject. "Well, I originally wanted to play a few rounds of Gwent. You know that card game?"

"I have heard of it already, but I have not dwelt on it."

She exhaled with relief. "It doesn't matter. I'll explain the basics and play a few practice rounds with you before things get serious."

Dettlaff raised an eyebrow. "Serious?"

"Of course it's getting serious! Because Gwent is not simply -only- a card game. It's a philosophy! There are individual cards for almost every race, but it should be noted that all factions have different advantages and disadvantages. The characteristics of the cards are similar to the characteristics of the respective people, making the game extremely authentic and lively! It is a battle! Man against man. Already the coin toss at the beginning provides the pure thrill! Who wants to take the starting position in the first round? Come on now! Let's find a place to play."

The overwhelming euphoric outburst of the young woman made the vampire pause for a moment. During her expressive monologue she did not notice the budding soft expression in Dettlaff's eyes while his facial features relaxed.

Benches and tables had been set up along the sandbank as well as inside various festively decorated fishermen's huts for the social gathering. Barmaids squeezed their way through the narrow corridors with the ordered drinks and regularly spilled some on the celebrating people. Colorful garlands of flowers adorned the whole place and announced the lively springtime. On the horizon the last rays of the sun shone over the lake and tinted it a shimmering red, while some eager young men were already piling up logs for the bonfire. In the distance the excited chirping of courtship display birds could be heard, and a mild breeze gently swayed the numerous buds up and down along scrawny branches.

Livia chose a more secluded spot near the shore and with a wave of her hand indicated to Dettlaff to settle down on the opposite side. She rummaged through her packed backpacks for a short time before she pulled out a richly decorated wooden box.

"Look and be astonished! These are my unbeatable winning decks."

The vampire crossed his arms in front of his chest and looked at her with a waiting look. However, Livia seemed to have expected a completely different reaction from the vampire.

"Come on now! Show a little more enthusiasm! At least I'll introduce you to the art of card playing."

"If I understand correctly, card playing is merely as a pastime and has no essential use."

"Wow." Livia looked at Dettlaff with complete bewilderment. "Fun is a foreign concept to you, isn't it?"

"I think that our ideas of fun are different."

She scratched her neck briefly. "All right. Let's try it another way." The young woman tightened her posture and leaned forward further. "I think that Gwent would be a good base to teach you some of the ways people behave."

Dettlaff raised an eyebrow suspiciously.

"As mentioned before, there are different factions and these in turn are divided into further sub-classes. Let's take a closer look at the "monster" faction, for example." With routine movements Livia opened the box and pulled out the corresponding deck. "There are insectoids, necrophages, the Wild Hunt, beasts, vampires and more. Each of these classes brings certain advantages and thus allows the game to develop a suitable strategy for the game".

"Hmmmmm." Dettlaff's deep voice made Livia pause. His gaze glided to the wooden box with Livia's remaining cards. He pulled out one of the upper ones and looked at it thoughtfully. "What faction is this?"

A joyful smile spread on Livia's lips, due to Dettlaff's serious attempt to master the card game. She leaned over the table to him and lightly tapped the picture. "This is the Nilfgardian faction. As in reality, this deck is used to try to get the opponent's units on its side. This unit card is called Sweers."

The vampire examined the back of the card and then looked at Livia questioningly. "The cards contain only images and individual symbols. How do you know the name of this card?"

The young woman rolled her eyes as she sat back. "Every Gwent player knows the names of the cards." Her tone suggested that this was absolute basic knowledge. "But you probably didn't notice the artist in Beauclair..."

Dettlaff, shaking his head, grabbed the rest of the Nilfgardian faction's pile and looked at the individual cards more closely.

"Now, there is a Gwent-authorized cartographer in Beauclair. He depicts important personalities or beings that seem interesting to him on individual cards and has them reproduced using the letterpress process. Usually he keeps the originals, true unique pieces I tell you! I have been dreaming of such a card for years, but unfortunately there has been no opportunity to acquire such a card so far. Since the artist doesn't like to sell his works, you can imagine the market value of the few that are in circulation. "

Their conversation dragged on for a long time before Livia came in to go into detail about the individual rules and play the first practice round with Dettlaff.

When it ended she looked at him expectantly. "Well? Did I promise too much?"

The vampire drove thoughtfully over his chin. "I think it's too early to make a statement. Would you mind playing another round with me?"

Joyfully excited, the alchemist blinked before nodding her approval and Dettlaff hesitantly returned her smile.

The midnight blue sky was covered with stars, which shimmered on the surface of the lake. Meanwhile, the mood among the celebrants was exuberant, the instrumental accompaniment became more monosyllabic and only a few of them managed to produce a straight sentence. Near the torches that had been set up, were large flocks of moths, some of which had already fallen victim to the flames and, burnt to death, were giving off their last twitches on the ground.

For the young alchemist this was a complete culture shock. In Toussaint, wine and water was served at various festivities. Here, only beer and heavy drink was served. She darkly remembered her resolution never to drink alcohol again, but had to discard it for lack of alternatives. She sipped her second beer, her cheeks slightly reddened and her mouth twisted a bit in a disgruntled mood. "Do you like this gnat's piss ?"

"No. The taste is too simple. Has Regis ever offered you any of his homemade distillates?"

The young woman groaned in agony and struck her hand against her forehead. Amused, Dettlaff looked at the slightly reddened face of Livia. He bent over the table a little and looked at her piercingly. "You can't stand alcohol." It was not a question, but a statement.

"I beg you! You can't compare pears to apples. Regi's homemade brandy should not be put on the same level as other alcoholic beverages. This drink has the power to transport someone to another dimension!" Frustrated, she scratched her head. "That was the worst hangover of my life and I hope I will never, NEVER experiance such a shit again."

A warm smile reached Dettlaff's lips. "You're still young and you're gonna do some stupid things."

The young woman sighed loudly after this reply. "How old are you? What are your youthful indiscretions?"

The vampire was about to respond when Livia's attention drifted away from him and she spotted the man behind Dettlaff instead, who seemed to have appeared out of nowhere out of the darkness. The dark brown eyes resembled two black coals due to the sparse ambient lighting, while at the same time the mischievousness in them could be seen. He had a prominent broad nose, scattered birthmarks on his face, a bald head and an almost eerie smile on his lips. At first sight he looked like an ordinary, though extremely well-groomed, inhabitant of the village, but after a few seconds his consensual aura began to take effect due to his facial expressions and gestures. He seemed mysterious and dangerous at the same time, but the smile was too mischievous that the young woman could not take her eyes off him.

"I see that there is a game going on here. May I join you?"

Only at that moment Livia noticed that she had smiled at the unknown man since his appearance. "You're right, sir, but I'm just teaching my friend the basics of Gwent. I doubt you'd want to play against a beginner"

The eyes of the man flashed lurking as he rubbed his hands in joyful excitement. "I am not a fine gentleman, merely a master of mirrors." He made an outwardly deep bow to them both. "Gaunter O'Dimm at your service."

Livia already stood up during the bow of the unknown man and also indicated a small one. "Pleased to make your acquaintance, Gaunter. My name is Livia Moreau."

Now also the vampire rose and looked at the stranger with the striking yellow hood. Dettlaff's jaws tightened as he look at Gaunter. Livia seemed to notice nothing of the vampire's tension and took over the introduction for the black-haired man. "This is Dettlaff van der Eretein." For a moment the vampire seemed to be distracted as he gave Livia a quick sideways glance.

Gaunter tilted his head a bit, while his smile became even wider. "It's a pleasure to meet you."

Turning to Livia, he continued in a cheerful tone. "I would be honored to play against such a beautiful young woman."

The alchemist was unsure whether she should accept Gaunter's compliment. His manner was not as clumsy as that of most men and he seemed to choose his words carefully, even playing with them and enjoying their sheer use.

"Of course we can play a round."

Gaunter clapped his hands and sat down on Dettlaff's seat. The vampire's gaze remained dark as he walked around the table with slow steps to finally sit down next to Livia, touching hers with his thigh. Livia blinked in confusion and gave him a questioning look because of the unexpected physical approach, but was soon distracted by Gaunter's exclamation. He ordered three shots of a high-proof brandy from the bartender before turning to Livia again.

"A game of luck like Gwent is, in my opinion, a very fine thing. You can only influence it to a certain extent with tactics and strategy, but if you are unlucky, no matter how clever you are and how you play, you will lose. And it's that attribute that makes Gwent so interesting. Don't you agree, my dear Livia?"

She heard Dettlaff exhale sharply beside her when her name was mentioned, while he pressed his muscular thigh more firmly against hers. She noticed that Dettlaff had not spoken a single word in front of Gaunter. Thoughtfully she frowned, unsure how she should continue to behave in this situation. "Um, yes. I guess you can't win without any luck."

"I must confess I thought you'd be more enthusiastic about gambling. Gwent offers a variety of factions, countless strategies. Your opponent's first card, which reveals which faction they are playing with. Does the opponent know his deck's strengths and weaknesses? How good is his strategy and combination skills, and most importantly, what is his opponent willing to bet on?"

The word bet did not fail to have an effect on Livia. She was on fire and wanted to pursue her weakness for gambling. Gaunter seemed to share her thinking about this card game, which excited her all the more.

"I'm in! What's the bet?"

The bartender put three small wooden drinking vessels on the table and returned immediately to process the next orders.

"Well, I'm a opponent of cash stakes, but I have a proposition for you. If you win, I will give you something that contains the truth. If you lose," his eyes turned to Dettlaff for a barely noticeable moment, "I will present you with a lie."

Livia pinched her eyes together thoughtfully. "Excuse me, that must be the alcohol, because I don't quite follow. It doesn't matter if i win or lose, you're giving me something. Did I understand you correctly?"

A demonic grin was on his lips. "You got it. Losers and winners aren't apparent at first glance." Gaunter took his drinking vessel and saluted Livia, who returned his gesture and quickly tipped down the high-proof brandy. The effect was not long in coming. She felt an unpleasant burning in her throat, while the heat suddenly increased on her cheeks. Gaunter lifted up his empty cup and signaled the barmaid that he wanted to have a second round.

In the meantime Livia had decided on a deck and handed it to Gaunter for shuffling. While shuffling her opponent's cards, she turned to Dettlaff. "I've already explained the basics, so you should understand the rough flow of the game. If there are steps you don't understand, I'll be happy to explain them later."

"Livia, you shouldn't be playing this game." Worried, he looked into her green eyes.

The alcohol seemed to work gradually. "Oh, Dettlaff." She leaned against the vampire and laid her head on his shoulder, deliberately ignoring the sudden tension of the man. "Why don't you relax a little? Nobody has dared to come to our table all evening! Now there is one and you chase him away again with your eerie appearance. Let's have some fun!"

She didn't let him get a word in and returned the cards to Gaunter.

"Dettlaff, maybe you'd like to flip the coin? Your flip will decide if luck is on Livia's side or not."

Dettlaff threw a threatening glance at Gaunter, which would have made anyone else at the party run for its life by screaming. Reluctantly, he grabbed the coin and flicked it in the air.

The game began and Livia was more than excited. Gaunter looked at her smiling. "Heads or tails?"

Euphorically she slammed her fist on the table. "Head!"

Luck seemed to smile on her. Gaunter would open the game.

After she had played her first card, her opponent laughed. "Vampires?"

"Yes. This monster faction is underrated by most! With the ability to bleed, the opponent is permanently weakened over the rounds, while there is a second ability that is much more powerful."

"Which is?"

"Vampires are not loners. They owe their strength to their pack instinct. Individually they may be weak, but together they are unbeatable. A very romantic circumstance, don't you think?"

Gaunter laughed loudly and made his move, while Dettlaff watched Livia with an inscrutable look. The second round of brandy was served and Livia cheered to Gaunter.

During the third round, silence reigned. Livia had to concentrate, which was visibly difficult for her to do without making a mistake. But when Gaunter played his last card she jumped from the bench, cheering. Her opponent applauded her while Dettlaff continued to remain silent.

"Amazing! I haven't had such a serious opponent in a long time. I had so much fun playing against you!"

"You deserved to win. Here's your prize." With that he pulled a gwent card out of his pocket.

Livia fell silent instantly, while Dettlaff fell into a state of rigidity.

"I don't think you're familiar with this card?"

"It's an original card." Her voice had taken on a devout tone. She swallowed hard. "But... this motive... it..."

"With this, I take my leave for today. It was a pleasure to meet you and your extraordinary partner." By the time Livia could tear her eyes from the card, Gaunter had already disappeared. Once again she glanced at the portrait of an abnormal monstrosity. This creature seemed to have come straight from hell. It had no eyes but sharp fangs, huge wings, clawed hands and a very distinctive skin structure.

"I am glad that the gods came to fetch me and gave me this card by way of detours, but what the hell is this monstrosity?"

"Livia, you should never have accepted this game." Dettlaff's tone was cold, and when the young alchemist looked at him, he stood up with his back turned to her and took quick steps to get away from her.


	17. Moonstruck

Moonstruck

For the fraction of a second, Livia's mind was filled with a frightening, all-encompassing emptiness, while a stifling silence descended upon her, its weight slowly but steadily threatening to crush the young woman underneath it. This state was replaced by confusion paired with budding rage, which took hold of her and nested itself in her thoughts, in order to take up roots and let them sprout at a rapid pace. Her face reflected the alchemist's chaos of emotions as she clenched her teeth tightly together and looked angrily after the vampire.

"Dettlaff!" Livia was dismayed to discover that she had hardly recognized her own voice. She felt like a stranger trapped in her own body. Livia rose slightly unsteadily from the bench to chase the vampire through the mass of swaying bodies. During her pursuit, she felt the hot breath and isolated droplets of saliva from the celebrants, which she pushed past, on her exposed skin. Warm sweaty flesh was pressed against her numb body, the instrumental accompaniment, just a dull monotonous roar in the background.

The mostly uncoordinated movements of the intoxicated people, their piercing clouds of odor surrounding them, which were extremely dominant due to the mixture of alcohol, vomit and feces, and the both old and fresh smell of sweat, which developed during the dancing and the associated close rubbing of the bodies, were only subliminally absorbed by the young alchemist.

Meanwhile, below the light-giving torches, other charred bodies of various moths gathered unnoticed by the celebrating crowd.

Off the festivities, the vampire finally paused. The moonlight played gently around his silhouette, a fascinating play of shadows could be observed on his black leather coat and let the elaborately crafted golden decorations of the dagger's sheath shine in a cold black leather of his coat, however, seemed to absorb most of the moonlight, resulting in the vampire's body almost merging with the night. The mild afternoon breeze had gone and was now replaced by a surprisingly cool spring night.

"Dettlaff." Livia exhaled exhausted through the mouth, shoulders slumped slightly forward. "If I' ve hurt you in any way by my behavior tonight, I'm sorry."

The vampire's posture stiffened before he slightly turned his head to her direction. "You've done nothing wrong." There was a resigned undertone in his voice and the hard contours of his striking face gave him a grim expression.

"You are lying! Something is wrong! You've been acting strangely since Gaunter came to our table!" The cheeks of the young alchemist were glowing, due to the consumption of alcohol. "What the hell is wrong with you? If you don't tell me what your problem is, I can't help you!"

Dettlaff frowned confusedly for a barely noticeable moment before he turned to the distraught young woman with a determined look. "Livia, you are not to blame. It is...", he sucked in the fresh air of the evening with trembling nostrils and pressed his lips tightly together to form a hard, narrow line.

Livia noticed, despite her slightly tipsy state, that he was fighting an inner conflict with himself and was at odds with himself as to how to describe it to her. It almost seemed as if the vampire was suffering from physical agony.

"We... don't have to talk about this now." Unintentionally Livia spoke to the vampire in a whisper.

His intense look made Livia's heart beat noticeably faster. Almost painfully, it pounded like a staccato against her irregularly rising and falling rib cage, while it continued rhythmically in her ears. With his blue eyes, he seemed to be able to look down to the bottom of her soul and allowed her a deep insight into his as well. Endless longing spread through the vampire's blue eyes as he tried to close the distance between himself and the young woman.

"Heeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeey!" A loud belching pervaded the night. "Fuck the hell out of the girl!" From a distance of a few meters a young man, swaying strongly, pushed himself out of the bushes and tried unsuccessfully to stand upright while pointing in the direction of the two with an uncoordinated hand movement. "What a shit! One looks forward to 'a performance and then this! Man, her ass is hot! Why don't you rip her clothes off and fuck her until dawn or do you have no balls?! She won't be able to walk straight for a couple of days. Fuck her tits! Fuck her mouth! Fuck her ass! Fuck..." The drunk man continued his enumeration unabashedly.

Livia stared at the shameless man with wide open eyes and slightly open mouth, probably due to the high alcohol consumption, surprised and shocked at the same time by the potential possibilities he mentioned in his never-ending enumeration, while Dettlaff gave the drunk man a disgusted look.

Livia cleared her throat and scratched her elbow in embarrassment. "Well, the party's not over yet. Shall we go back? I'd still like to see the bonfire."

The vampire didn't seem particularly taken with her request and frowned.

With surprising determination, Livia grabbed one of his large hands and enclosed it with hers, with Dettlaff's prominent fingernails scratching lightly against her palm, causing the hair on the back of her neck to stand up instantly. "Remember? I promised to be your good luck charm tonight. I will not leave your side tonight!" Full of zest for action, she took the vampire with her, ignoring the drunken young man who continued to be occupied with his enumerations.

"Blijf voor eeuwig aan mijn zijde."

The young woman blinked and turned to Dettlaff. "Did you say something?"

The expression in his eyes became soft as he watched the young woman in front of him. "No. Let's watch the bonfire."

The flames of the bonfire shot up, consuming more oxygen, while some sparks flew into the grass in a high arc and went out smoking. Children ran barefoot amidst the colorful hustle and bustle, competing to see who could hold one of the glowing pieces of wood in their hands for the longest time, while some were already sitting on the bank and dipping their hands in the cold water howling. The dancers, who had been responsible for heating up the atmosphere at the beginning of the festival, were not to be found among the dancing masses, instead many couples had formed, who laughed and circled the warming fire in traditional dance.

Before Livia could reply, a full beer mug, the golden contents of which sloshed slightly over the edge, was pressed into her hand. Confused, she looked at the waitress, who had already disappeared into the raging crowd again to hand out more drinks. Shortly afterwards, the blonde-haired woman's shoulders began to shake before a bright laugh escaped her. The vampire stared at the young woman with a puzzling look.

"You just look too grim! No one dares come near you."

With crossed arms the addressed looked amused at the alchemist. "I don't seem to frighten everyone off with my fierce presence."

"No, but your unpredictable moods could soon make it so." After the biting comment, Livia took a strong sip and shortly after, disgusted, moved her mouth. " By Marjoran, I doubt if we'll make much progress tomorrow. Would you like some too?"

Dettlaff's lips opened slightly while he thought about her offer in surprise. When he was about to answer, Livia lifted the jug again to drink and emptied it with long strokes. With a sweeping movement she slammed the empty jug onto one of the tables, quickly wiped her mouth and turned again to the bonfire. The reddish color on her cheeks seemed to stay on her face that evening as she watched the dancing couples with bright eyes.

The sequence of the individual dance steps was quite simple. The man simply wrapped one arm around the waist of his dancing partner while he held her hand with the other. With almost bouncing steps they danced around the fire. When the flute was used, the men pressed the woman closer to him, while turning with her around their own axis.

Sighing, she watched the scene before her gaze slipped further towards a man wearing a headscarf. This man was currently in a heated discussion with some of the older people. "...and I tell you, witchers have a heart! I was in captivity of mangy Scoia'tael when the white wolf appeared. He saved me in a heartbeat!"

"So what? He certainly didn't do it for nothing! How much did you have to pay him?"

"Nothing! I've offered to welcome him anytime and I'll be happy to cut his hair."

One of the men within this round slammed his jug on the table and belched noisily before responding babbling. "You must have dropped your pants in the woods for him. No witcher works for...", the grey-haired man did not get the chance to finish his sentence, because the angry barber gave him a strong punch straight across the chin. The situation escalated within a few seconds and the men beat each other up. Livia had to blink at this sudden change of mood within the men's round, several times.

She flinched in shock when an older woman stepped on her. "Young lady. Have you ever been to this kind of festival?"

"No, I'm sorry."

Laughing, she patted the young woman on the upper arm. "Well, that doesn't matter. Let me enlighten you for a moment. The dance around the bonfire is only one of many highlights of the festival. But there is one that all women eagerly await."

The alchemist's curiosity was aroused. "And what is that?"

"Water represents life. It has the power to end it, just as it can save life. Throughout the year, thin cotton dresses were sewn, which the virgin ladies of the feast put on and wash themselves in the water clean of all worries. The men are forbidden to follow the women into the water. They must wait on the beach for their return. Would you like to participate in this custom?"

Thoughtfully she looked at the older woman. "Isn't the water of the lake quite cold in this time of year?"

A deep throaty laugh escaped the old woman. "The youth today! If the temperatures don't play along, they immediately pull in their tails."

"No!" A little softer, Livia continued. "No. I'll do it. How long do I have to stay in the water?"

"As long as you wish . Go to the hut where some young ladies are already standing and get a dress, too. Wash yourself clean and enjoy the tender bloom of youth!"

Unsettled, Livia looked at Dettlaff. "Is it all right with you if I," she hesitated before continuing, "take a bath?"

Amusement spread through the blue eyes. "She said nothing about vampires. If you should cry out for help, I will pull you out of the cold water again. But don't complain about the cold afterwards."

Livia was briefly surprised by the vampire's unexpected sense of humor before she cheekily stuck out her tongue and ran to the aforementioned hut for the changing room.

For a moment the cold water took her breath when she tried to start swimming. Several other women seemed to have a similar problem, as they stood on the beach and watched the others. The young woman gave herself a push and confidently repelled herself from the ground.

Livia closed her eyes and let the gentle waves of the lake carry her, ignoring the hustle and bustle in the background and the coldness. The dull moonlight gave the water a mysterious glow and made her white dress shine brightly in sharp contrast. The thin cotton fabric of the garment had by now completely absorbed the ice-cold water and embraced Livia's body like a second skin, while her long blonde hair played around it.

Time and space did not seem to exist while her awareness of her body gradually faded. She felt numb and empty. The young alchemist pondered in her mind whether alcohol stimulated the thought processes to a certain degree after ingestion. Many of her past events and points of view now seemed obsolete to the young woman as she wondered what sense her existence had. There were unknown powers slumbering in her, which she could not consciously use, not to mention to controlling it. What kind of power lay hidden within her and was waiting to be released? Would she find answers in Oxenfurt?

She was jerked out of her thoughts as the panicked cry of a partridge pierced the silence of the night. With moderate astonishment and narrowed eyebrows, the young alchemist had to realize that she was meanwhile far from the celebrating society. The voices of those celebrating were lost in the cool breeze of the night, only the continuous drumming of the music could be heard as a dull roar.

As the young alchemist approached the shore area, soft sand enclosed her bare feet and let them sink in slightly as she walked along. Livia paused as the water merely played ankle-high around her legs and gazed almost reverently at the moon. Small clouds covered it, but moved on with surprising speed, allowing the young woman an unobstructed view of the mysterious celestial body. She could understand why beings of the night felt attracted to it.

Goose bumps spread over her body, while the now transparent dress left no room for fantasy for the viewer. Her breasts were marked by a discreet drape of the dress on her upper body, while the mamilles stood out clearly. The cotton fabric nestled up against her narrow waist, converging at the crotch. The gentle curve of her butt was accentuated to advantage by the tight-fitting garment. Ice cold water trickles, which made her body shake, ran from her hair over her trembling body, converged in the pubic area and finally found their way back to earth along her inner thighs.

An unnatural fog obscured her vision for a short time and played around her body before Dettlaff materialized next to her. Obviously ignoring her attractive appearance, he looked at the young woman with concern. "That's enough Livia, you should go back to the fire and warm up. It's too cold."

An irrational disappointment, due to the vampire's lack of reaction to her current appearance, spread to Livia and made her sigh with resignation. "I would like to stay in the water a little longer."

Confused, the vampire narrowed his eyes and briefly followed Livia's gaze to the moon.

"Don't you think the moon is particularly beautiful today?" With her lips slightly open, her arms wrapped around her upper body, her cheeks still reddened from the alcohol, she looked up into the sky and again pondered lost in her thoughts. It escaped her attention that the vampire had once again turned his gaze towards Livia and hauntingly stared at her body in the soft moonlight with his blue eyes. Dettlaff's facial features relaxed and in his eyes a warm expression paired with deep longing appeared.

"Yes, indeed. Beautiful." His deep voice was muffled while an admiring undertone resonated.

He moved closer to the young woman to place his heavy coat over her trembling shoulders and pull it together in front of her upper body. "Usually the beautiful things are so close and yet so far at the same time. It is a wish to be able to touch it, to find a reason for one's own existence, to receive happiness, to feel complete after an eternity, but it is not granted. What remains is the unquenchable longing and the painful wishful thinking that the future might bring an unexpected change."

The cloak enclosed with trembling fingers, Livia bridged the last distance so that her delicate body touched his. Dettlaff's posture was clearly tense. "Why are you waiting for a change? You're responsible for your own future, so only you can influence it."

He tightly gripped her narrow shoulders while his nails pierced the resistant leather of the coat. "Do you think I haven't tried this enough in the last 300 years? Tell me, why should I tirelessly strive to change things in a world where everything is fleeting and short-lived?" His voice had the same hostile tone as when they first met at the Trastamara hunting lodge.

Grief and pity were reflected in Livia's gaze before she started to respond. "No being wants to spend a lifetime in solitude"

Dettlaff gave a deep growl and his pointed teeth came out. "I am not alone. Countless of my kind have joined me."

The young woman shook her head gently. "And yet you are drawn away from them. Dettlaff, stop lying to yourself. What are you looking for?"

The vampire's breathing accelerated. "I don't want any creatures too scared to come near me. I don't want to have to hide and always be careful to keep up my outward appearance. I do not want to be reduced to what I am."

Livia put her head slightly tilted. "And what exactly are you in your own eyes?"

Dettlaff bit his lower lip and closed his eyes resignedly. "I am a monster. A monster that everyone is afraid of. A monster that should not exist in this world."

Viscous blood flowed thickly along his lower lip down to his chin and seemed to be as black as the night.

His eyes opened suddenly as Livia followed the warm trail with her index finger. With a curious look she stared at her hand before leading it to her mouth. Resting her finger on her lower lip, she ran her tongue along her fingertip and tasted the blood of the higher vampire. Dettlaff's rib cage rose and fell at an unnatural speed as he picked up the image of the blood-drinking young woman. Livia swallowed the content and gazed at the vampire with an undefinable expression. "Strange, your blood tastes like human blood to me. Are you sure you're a monster?"

He seemed to almost devour her with his gaze. Dettlaff moved his large hand under her chin before he embraced her cold cheek and touched single strands of wet hair with his fingertips. The other hand moved around her waist and pressed her lower body more firmly against his, causing Livia to exhale in surprise. The vampire bent down to the young woman and tenderly ran his tongue along her lower lip, feeling her excited breath on his face and tasting his own blood. He detached himself a little from her, but Livia gripped tightly around the collar of his red tunic, the coat slipping off her shoulders and falling into the water. She pulled him down to her again. Possessive, her tongue traced the blood on his chin until it touched his trembling lower lip. Gently she stroked over the already healed wound and absorbed every single drop of blood of the vampire.

When she couldn't taste any more blood, she detached herself from Dettlaff, her arms resting on his chest and looked at him with a blurred expression. "Come to think of it, you taste rather sweet. Like a forbidden fruit ripe for harvest."

Dettlaff's iris turned white, while another cloud moved in front of the moon.


	18. Thought games

Thought games

A cool breeze swept across the land, gently raising and lowering the sprouting leaves as well as the germinating buds of the trees, while the pollen released under the cover of darkness remained hidden from the human eye. The dark surface of the water rippled and the waves spread over the lake. The reflection of the moon and the scattered stars were now distorted, while the outlets of the current grabbed Livia's ankles and struck her legs irregularly with gentle force.

The slender fingers of the young woman continued to rest on the broad upper body of the vampire, allowing her to feel his irregular breathing and the increasing deformation of the chest muscles beneath the slightly roughened cotton fabric. The darkness of the night prevented her from having an unrestricted view of Dettlaff, but Livia could still see that his chin was now more pointed, while the cheekbones were dominant. Threatening fangs were illuminated by the dull light of the moon, the eye sockets lay noticeably deeper, which made him appear even more animalistic.

As far as the light conditions allowed, the young woman captured the face of the vampire in its entirety. It was different. It was frightening. It was bestial. It was alien. But the now conspicuously white eyes reflected an almost painful longing and Livia felt her chest contract with compassion and her breath falter at this sight. Never before had she met such an emotional being that knew neither betrayal nor deception. In search of true affection, seeing himself as a monster, while his own hope of finding bliss steadily diminished.

A single tear made its way down one of the young woman's reddened cheeks before it paused for a few moments on Livia's narrow chin, detached itself from the smooth surface of her skin and merged almost silently with the lake. Instead of backing away from him, the young woman pressed her body even more against that of the vampire, causing the fibers of his tunic to turn dark all over when they came into contact with Livia's soaked dress. Dettlaff's eyes narrowed and Livia thought she saw a flash of uncertainty in them. This being seemed to consist exclusively of opposites. Strong and weak. Sensitive and selfish. Selfless and demanding.

At no point did Livia break eye contact as she slowly let one of her hands slide up over the soft surface of the red tunic. As her slender fingers reached the exposed part of his neck, the vampire sharply sucked the air through the broad, wrinkled nose. His skin felt firm yet soft to a certain degree. Scattered veins were now protruding more and more, throbbing in an unnaturally fast rhythm. Livia thought she could not only feel Dettlaff's pulse on the leathery skin, but also hear it, or was she confusing it with her own? She had the feeling of being one with him and felt an insatiable urge for more, ignoring the subliminal humming that was constantly increasing in her head. Only her cold fingertips touched the vampire's heated skin, but his warmth seemed to flow into her innermost being, the surrounding fresh spring night and the soaked clothes were of no importance. Slowly Livia's fingers moved on before she paused at the prominent cheek and enclosed it with her entire palm.

Dettlaff inhaled audibly before he threw his head back with his eyes closed tightly and made a loud moan as his body pressed against hers, trembling. Livia noticed that the vampire's pitch was now even lower than usual, but her thoughts were suddenly interrupted when he bent down to her, grabbed the young woman's shoulders and tenderly kissed her neck. Dettlaff's lips were now noticeably narrower and felt unyieldingly firm against her cold skin. They touched a sensitive area just below the earlobe, while Livia could also feel the tips of his fangs. Her body reacted autonomously to this approach, causing her to run her hands into Dettlaff's silky hair and cling to it, while the dominant smell of tonka beans filled the immediate surroundings and literally flooded her senses. The kisses were, in contrast to his bestial appearance, feather-light and gentle. A loud gasping escaped the young woman as his lips drained from her and were shortly afterwards detached by his warm tongue, his grip on her shoulders becoming stronger. The razor-sharp ends of his claws barely touched the fabric on her buttocks, while the vampire with his soft tongue slowly moved down her long neck and stopped at her collarbone.

He pressed his forehead against her shoulder and breathed intermittently. "Livia." The mention of her name gave the young woman a pleasant shiver, with the vampire's menacingly deep voice adding to it. "Your smell is driving me mad. It brings out the monstrosity that I am and that I try to hide from you every day."

Eyes half closed, while her voice resonated with unmistakable lust, the young woman replied. "I trust you Dettlaff." The unpleasant buzzing in her head suddenly became stronger and seemed to take control of her body.

Her breathing stopped as she tried to continue speaking in a husky voice. "You need not hide anything from me. I..." The monotonous sound in her head became louder and louder as the surroundings seemed to blur. "...accept yourself as you are. What you are."

Dettlaff's grip on her shoulders was now almost painful, his claws cutting through the soaked fabric of the dress and isolated, treacherous red dots appeared in the immediate vicinity before the blood combined with the water inside the garment and spread over the entire surface. "Livia, you are mine." His deep voice was filled with possessive devotion. Her legs seemed to weaken when she felt a familiar pressure on her neck and a silent darkness fell upon her.

A lovely warmth surrounded her, while a pleasant scent almost encouraged the young woman to continue sleeping. One of her arms must have fallen asleep, it was tingling uncomfortably and could hardly be moved, while an unusual weight lay on her waist. Barely perceptible cold drafts regularly brushed against her face and her slender legs met with unyielding resistance. Livia puffed out in disgust before she straightened herself a little further and slowly opened her eyes. Due to the bright rays of the morning sun, she had to blink several times before she could orientate herself.

With drawn-up eyebrows she looked confusedly into the human face of the sleeping vampire. It seemed relaxed and the young woman recognized the sharp teeth between his slightly opened lips. He had conspicuous dark circles under his eyes, which were further accentuated by his unnaturally light skin tone. Scattered white strands were at the level of the temples and stood out clearly between the curly raven-black hairs.

During their journey together, the alchemist had never seen Dettlaff asleep, which is why she had silently made the assumption that vampires, unlike humans, do not need sleep. However, this did not apply to the regeneration phases after lethal injuries.

A fresh breeze swept across the country, which unconsciously caused Livia to press herself more firmly against Dettlaff's body. This reaction did not escape the affected person. Bright blue eyes watched her worriedly, while the grip around her waist became more dominant. "How do you feel?"

"Huh?" The addressed person blinked at him confusedly before the events of the previous evening came over her mind with full force. Her body began to tremble uncontrollably while her cheeks seemed to burn. With a jerky movement, she pushed herself off his chest with one hand and stood up swaying, her sleeping arm hanging down.

"Um, I think I'd better go freshen up." Embarrassed, she pushed single strands of hair behind her ear and turned away from the vampire with surprising speed to take away the possibility of a reaction. After what felt like an eternity and countless stumbles, she reached the shore, which was overgrown with moss, especially at the edges. There she squatted down, weakened, her arms wrapped around her own upper body. She swayed back and forth at regular intervals while she looked at her reflection on the smooth surface of the water.

Last evening could easily hold its own with the one or other exaggerated play of well-known dramaturgists, if not even surpass them. Livia looked at her pale image and put her shaking index finger on her trembling lower lip, and finally ran her tongue along it. "By Majoran!" Horrified by the vulgarity of the sight she had shown Dettlaff during the previous evening, she pulled her hair up. She was not surprised that the vampire found humans extremely unattractive, especially when they really chummed up thanks to the sweet kiss of alcoholic intoxication.

\- "Come to think of it, you taste rather sweet. Like a forbidden fruit ripe for harvest."-

Her hands let go of the tousled hair and clapped her cheeks painfully several times until they burned uncomfortably. "What have I done?" Her voice was little more than a whisper as she lowered her head in shame and closed her eyes. She had drunk his blood without being asked, no, much rather she had licked it off her finger like a lunatic and made crazy statements. Had she injured his dignity with that? But his reaction to her ... ill-considered action contradicted this theory. Her transparent dress did not seem to have had any major influence on him. Was this all about her blood? Is that what stirred him up?

Livia hesitantly touched the part of the neck that Dettlaff had tenderly caressed a few hours ago. Confusion spread in her mind and was reflected in the young woman's expression. There was nothing.

Her reflection supported the unexpected statement. Dettlaff had not bitten her yesterday. Her heart started beating much faster while a cold shiver ran down her spine. The sight of the vampire form was undoubtedly frightening, but also interesting to a certain extent. Why didn't she answer his question then? Was she too afraid of Dettlaff's reaction to her answer? He was not human and in certain situations he behaved differently than one would expect. Livia liked this circumstance, which is why she could mostly relax in his presence and act the way she really was. But the vampire seemed to be unhappy with his own nature. How would he react to such a statement from her? What would Regis reply to her if he realized that she had broken her word and offered Dettlaff her blood again? The dainty fingers continued to rest on her narrow neck while Livia realized that the end of last night was completely beyond her knowledge. Why was he lying with her this morning? Her pale hands dipped into the cold water and scooped the contents against her heated face.

Scattered small branches cracked treacherously under the sole of her shoe, announcing her presence as she approached the camp. Livia had already set up a dialogue in her mind, wanted to stupidly recite it, clarify the past event with it and apologize for her inappropriate behavior. But Dettlaff was not to be found. The taut posture of the blonde-haired woman's body suddenly subsided, while the young woman looked around the clearing. Relief treacherously flooded her mind working at full speed, and at the same moment it dawned on her that this was not the final solution.

Exhaling loudly she settled down and rummaged in one of the backpacks for changing clothes. The white cotton dress had dried in the meantime and was no longer lying on her body like a second skin, but in the bright sunlight it still proved to be extremely transparent and thus useless for everyday life. Quickly her gaze went over the whole clearing again before she pulled the dress over her head. Cool spring air swept over her body, causing the sensitive skin of her breasts to contract as the thin hairs on her forearms stood up. The young woman held the cotton dress tightly and stared at the small holes that were surrounded by her dried blood. It had turned brown and the fabric lost its elasticity in the affected areas due to the hard encrustations. Dettlaff's grip seemed painful to her last evening, but she was so excited that she didn't notice that he had actually hurt her.

Livia absentmindedly did a small lunge and bumped against the opened rucksack, causing a leather-bound drawing pad to fall out. During her trip to Beauclair, she had bought this Dettlaff and packed it for their trip together, but it never seemed to be used seriously. Disgruntled, Livia had to admit to herself that Syanna's drawing had been absolutely fantastic and that she would have loved to see more works, but the vampire said at the beginning of her journey that he lacked the muse and inner peace for this hobby.

She threw the ruined dress carelessly on the snowdrops overgrown ground and picked up the block. She liked the simple patterns on the light brown leather. Thoughtfully she traced the curved lines, absorbed the consistency of the material and thoughtfully opened a random page.

In the distance the noisy courtship of the male partridges could be heard, fighting each other to show the ladies their strength and superiority. Panicky cries of the losers occasionally cut through the silence, while a cool breeze made the single grass stalks dance. Meanwhile, robins chirped happily and seemed to enjoy the first warm rays of sunshine of the year.

Livia's green eyes gazed blankly at the sides of the drawing pad before flipping the pages. The young alchemist could remember all too well the enormous landscapes that were projected very realistically onto the much too small pages of the drawing pad. Despite the choice of hatching the most diverse and unusual natural phenomena with only black and white, the final result looked convincingly realistic. The viewer had the feeling of hearing the leaves rustling in the wind and being drawn into the scene. She could actually remember each of these areas when examining the works.

The water of the springs had been mostly icy cold and clear. On the ground occasional small stones could be made out, mostly covered with a slippery layer of algae, while occasionally a fish had strayed into the natural basin. Livia regularly admired the natural spectacle surrounding her while bathing and at the same time complained in her thoughts about the usually much too low water level, as it had often only reached just up to her thighs.

Dettlaff was without doubt an extraordinarily talented painter. But the vivid depiction of the vegetation of the individual points of the journey only affected the young woman secondarily. With her lips slightly open, she glanced at her naked image, painted in realistic colours, which looked up to the sky with a loving smile, while clear spring water wet her body and ran down it. The center of the countless pictures was always her.

Livia blinked a few times before she suddenly closed the drawing pad and put it back in her backpack. Her body shivered, but the young woman was not sure if this was only due to the fresh spring weather. She had the feeling that she had seen something that was not meant for her. The pad belonged to Dettlaff. A guilty conscience spread inside her, because she had the feeling that she had cheated the vampire at that very moment, but at the same time her curiosity was aroused. Why did he paint her? According to his own statements, the human body was unattractive for him. She had not escaped the majestic aesthetics of the individual works, yet she was confused, which is why he secretly painted pictures of her and these were also nude drawings. Disapprovingly, she clicked her tongue to give more emphasis to her displeasure.

They now traveled together for a longer period of time, but Livia had the oppressive feeling that with her questions she only got to know a fraction of him. Was it similar to the vampire with her? How could this circumstance be changed?

After she had finished changing her clothes, she looked down at her body with a thoughtful look. What exactly did she feel for Dettlaff? She trusted him and felt liberated in his presence. Had he not been awakened by her jerky movements, she would not have interrupted the physical closeness to him. This circumstance could not be described with rational thought processes, it just felt right.

Just as right as the small loving gestures in her everyday life. She loved it when he put his heavy coat over her every evening, helped her to climb difficult passages, talked lively about his home country and was only too happy to answer her questions. The exotic smell of tonka beans surrounded her every day and she could not get enough of it. His naive and usually brash manner enraged her at first, but soon after she had to laugh at his clumsiness.

What will change between the two of them when they arrive in Novigrad? The house, which she is allowed to move into by Regis on loan, is located in the centre of the city. Besides, she can only retreat to it on weekends. During the week she has to give her best for her studies and study hard to help her parents as an officially trained alchemist. Will he still stay or will he slowly be attracted to his fellow beings?

She noticed the appearance of a reddish mist in the corners of her eyes before Dettlaff materialized with a serious expression directly in front of her. The young woman looked into the light blue eyes of the vampire and had to realize that she could not clearly interpret the emotions of her counterpart. Dettlaff's attention glided briefly on the damaged dress on the floor before he once again scrutinized the young alchemist in a piercing manner. An unpleasant silence prevailed between them, but Livia did not dare to break it. The prepared speech suddenly seemed dull and idiotic to her.

The vampire's jaw tightened considerably before he spoke.


	19. Togetherness

Togetherness

This summer an oppressive sultriness prevailed, which was always attended by the loud chirping of the crickets. The air was flickering and made the busy hiker imagine the strangest images in the distance, while the lifesaving fresh water for the country's population became scarce. The cheerful chirping of the birds ebbed away continuously with each passing day, the majestic panthers lay listlessly in the tall grass, mostly to save energy, and yawned in exhaustion, knights refrained from donning their massive armor, and the heads of the sunflowers hung limply towards the parched farmland.

A tall, slender man with rolled up sleeves and trouser legs walked along the field in the blazing midday heat and looked lovingly at the woman whose back was turned towards him. Her blonde curly hair was pinned up, revealing a slender tanned neck with a multitude of beads of sweat on it, running down in curving paths. The white cotton tunic stuck to her body while she used her hoe to try to prepare the dried ground.

Without any further ado, he dropped the spade and sprinted the last few meters to her. The blonde-haired woman gave a surprised outcry when he tore her down and pulled her into an intimate embrace. He smothered her sound with a passionate kiss, while his hands longingly followed her curves through her sweat-soaked clothes. Greedily he stroked her salty tasting lower lip with his tongue and laughed as he was tenderly bitten by her. "You realize that everyone out here can watch us, don't you?"

Her cheerful voice caused butterflies in his stomach, just like when they first met. He skillfully brushed some locks of the woman's hair behind her ear and gazed at her lovingly. " And if the Duchess herself were to come by! Everyone may see that I love and desire my wife above all else! Mireille, you're the best thing that could happen to me in this life!"

The woman giggled happily and snuggled closer to his chest, ignoring the sweat. " My darling! Let's stay together forever. There is nothing that can ever keep us apart." With his brown eyes, he gazed at Mireille's face and wished secretly that this moment would never end. For all eternity.

As unobtrusively as possible, he let one of his hands slide down, but before he could touch her voluptuous breasts, she slapped his fingers decisively. "First business, then pleasure." Teasingly, she pressed her lower body against his, which made him groan loudly in agony, before she rose with a sigh and extended her hand to him.

His lips still curled into a suggestive smile, he took her narrow hand. "Tonight you are mine! I will caress every part of your body and..."

With reddened cheeks Mireille pushed him playfully. "That's enough! You'd better concentrate on the field work ahead of you rather than playing the love-crazed fool!"

With a transfigured look he watched as Mireille resumed her work before he turned around and, breathing heavily, made his way back to the dropped shovel. The prospect of the strenuous field work put a damper on his good mood, but they would both enjoy this evening.

Dettlaff's jaw seemed almost to burst from the tension, while his bright blue eyes looked down at her and at no time let go of her face. "Humans," Livia blinked as the vampire broke the silence with a calm voice, "are strange creatures. Your lives are so short and yet you waste your time on work and war. Material things seem to be of very high value to you and your strong selfishness drives you to betray your nearest ones. I wonder if a person is really capable of holding sincere feelings for others besides himself."

Livia blinked several times in disbelief before she stared bewildered at the vampire's petrified face. Her heart was pounding almost painfully against her chest, while her hands were barely trembling. An indescribable cold took over her body and seemed to pull her into a never-ending black hole. The alchemist swallowed before hesitantly replying in a broken voice: "Dettlaff, I...". The unpleasant buzzing in her head had been present since the beginning of this morning, but during the conversation it seemed to increase steadily, almost driving her out of her mind. Sharply she sucked in the air and tried to concentrate on the conversation as best she could.

"Don't you want to travel with me anymore?"

Dettlaff pressed his lips tightly together, while in his eyes lay a deep sadness. "There is nothing I desire more than your closeness, but last night I almost did something unforgivable." His gaze glanced briefly at the blood-encrusted dress on the floor before he stared at Livia with open despair. "The smell of your blood has been driving me mad since last night. Even now it is present in this very moment. I don't want you to see me like this. Livia, I already hurt you! This..."

"I told you yesterday that I accept you for what you are!" The young woman hardly flinched noticeably. Her tone, caused by the piercing headache, turned out to be much more aggressive than she had intended, while Dettlaff's controlled state seemed to slowly crumble. His face reflected more than clearly the inner conflict he was in.

"You want to tell me that the entire human race is mendacious and deceitful, and what about you? Stop with your evasive explanations and bring your concerns to the point! Do you want to continue the journey with me? Yes or no?!"

The young woman was not sure whether it was the bright rays of the morning sun or whether Dettlaff was actually losing all color in his face. His whole body began to shake as he continued to try to restrain himself. However, Livia didn't give him time to gather his thoughts and continued angrily: "I know you're a vampire, damn it! Even if Regis doesn't want me to offer you my blood again, I did it yesterday and would do it right now and do you know why?" She took a deep breath and literally spat out the following words: "Because I'm just a fucking human who's all about intrigue!"

Livia's voice became continuously louder until she finally screamed at the vampire in a shrill voice. Her shoulders trembled as she gasped for breath in rage and stroked her temple with a brisk movement. The headaches coupled with her excessively emotions literally overwhelmed the young woman.

Inwardly she was not only angry at Dettlaff, but also at herself. She did not want to blame him and let the argument get out of hand. Instead, she wanted to reassure him by telling him that she didn't think he was a monster, no matter what he wanted. She trusted him and had the desire to help him accept himself. The vampire seemed to be lost, even in this moment. His anger was unmistakable, but she always had the feeling that it was mainly directed against himself.

A deep growl elicited Dettlaff, while the look of his blue eyes seemed to bore into the young woman's face. His chest rose and fell at short intervals while his nostrils flared. There was nothing left of the elegant, reserved and attentive man. Dettlaff was beside himself with anger and made this obvious by transforming into his vampiric appearance.

"That's enough!" His voice was now even deeper than normally and appeared to Livia much louder than usual. "You don't have the slightest idea of what you're offering to me, HUMAN!"

Livia burst out with a guttural cry full of frustration. "You are unfair, did anyone ever tell you that or did no one dare to do so because you are an oh so powerful vampire? Do you really want to accuse me of being human? I did not choose as what I was born!"

"Neither did I!" He came closer to Livia with gnashing teeth. "You're different from most people, but you lie to me too!"

The young woman's eyes widened in horror and incomprehension.

"I want to understand you, but every time I think I'm getting closer to you, you distance yourself from me! You do things I cannot predict. I thought that during this journey I could better understand what is going on inside you humans, but I have the feeling that exactly the opposite has happened!"

Gasping, the young woman took a step back when the vampire knelt before her. "Livia, I don't understand. Why aren't you afraid of me? Why do you want to travel with me?"

Meanwhile, the woman was shaking all over and was unable to answer anything, while she looked down at Dettlaff in bewilderment. The abrupt and at the same time unforeseen change in the situation simply overwhelmed her.

"I asked myself these questions everyday at the beginning of our journey, but finally I came to a decision." The vampire's white eyes took on the pleading expression of a child as he mustered the young woman before him. "I accept that you are lying to me. You may use me as you please but please," Dettlaff lowered his head resignedly and closed his eyes, "do not leave me. Don't leave me alone." His last words were little more than a faint breath.

Silence reigned in the clearing. A mild breeze was blowing over the fields, making the germinating grain dance, while in the distance the mating sounds of the partridges had silenced. The almost picturesque calm stood in stark contrast to the chaos of emotions that defiantly shouted out to her in her mind to give Dettlaff the coup de grace for his hurtful words. With her lips slightly open, she breathed in and out a few times and tried to collect herself despite the unbearable pressure in her head. The surroundings seemed to blur, but that only interested her secondarily. Her focus was solely on the vampire, who continued to wait with closed eyes for a reaction on her part.

Groaning, she threw her head back and let herself sink to the ground, her eyes still fixed on the bright blue sky. After a while she broke the silence with a soft whisper. "Why do arguments between us always end this way? You say that you want to understand me and every time you are convinced that you want to come closer to me, we move distant again. Do you think I feel different with you?" Sighing, she turned her attention back to the vampire. His white colored eyes watched her while he breathed clearly through his broad nose.

"I also ask myself several times a day what I could do to better understand you. You are so...," the young woman faltered briefly before she could find the right words to continue. "Unlike anything I have encountered in my life up to now. I don't care if you're a vampire or a human. Dettlaff, I want to understand you better. You asked me before we left, why you can touch me and I won't back down from you."

Livia slid closer to him on her knees and embraced him gently. Tenderly she stroked his back and noticed the play of his muscles under the thick leather coat. Every part that her hands touched reacted to her by noticeably contracting in the affected area. The vampire's body radiated a pleasant warmth, while he, like a drowning man reaching for a raft to save him, pressed the petite woman to his body. His wrinkled nose stroked hesitantly along the sides of her neck, taking deep breaths in an attempt to absorb her sweetish scent in its entirety.

Livia shuddered when she could feel the vampire's firm leathery skin on her body and tilted her head to give him better access. His breath faltered for a moment while his claws carefully ran through Livia's hair. The large paws gripped her head and he pressed his nose tighter against her neck. His lips caressed her delicate skin, with the pointed tips of his fangs pressing against her neck.

Confused, Dettlaff blinked as Livia gently but firmly pressed her hands against his upper body to free herself from him. The vampire's rapid heartbeat was reflected in the strongly pulsating veins on his face as he almost panicked to look at her. "Livia, please forgive me if I did something wrong. I didn't mean to be pushy. I didn't mean to..." He broke off in the middle of the sentence when he recognized his dagger in her hands.

A hint of a smile lay on her lips as she stared at him with a warm look. "Dettlaff, you may touch me because I trust you. You're not a monster because you want my blood. Nor can I give you absolution for your past deeds, but I can help you to shoulder this burden and to live with it. You have already helped me countless times and saved my life. Now I will be there for you."

Before Dettlaff could intervene, Livia cut open the scar that had remained after the incident with Sebastion. He looked in horror at the thick red lines that were trying to find their way to the ground along the young woman's narrow wrist.

Livia continued to look him in the eyes, while she slowly stretched her wrist towards Dettlaff. "Now you don't have to hurt me anymore to get my blood. I already tasted yours, now it's your turn." "Livia..." Dettlaff's deep voice was full of longing, while his beastly face tensed up. His extremely striking white eyes seemed to lose themselves in her green as he almost reverently embraced her tiny hand with his. "You belong to me as I belong to you."

The young woman's voice was little more than a whisper as she repeated the vampire's words. "And you are mine as I am yours."

Dettlaff bent down to her wrist before he stopped close to the wound and caught the smell of her blood. Slowly, almost agonizingly slowly, his lips covered the last distance and gently kissed the injured part of her skin. Livia sucked in the air while her whole body suddenly stiffened. With her free hand she supported herself on the ground to keep her balance.

Dettlaff's very tender kisses traced the individual blood vessels before he regularly returned to the open wound with his pointed tongue to taste the small red pearls emerging from it. But after only a short time he paused panting loudly, kept his gaze fixed on her wrist and brought out with a pressed voice. "Breathe."

Livia flinched when, according to Dettlaff, she noticed the unpleasant pulling in her chest. She took a breath through her nose several times before she grasped his chin with her free hand and could feel his pointed jawbone. "Dettlaff."

The vampire's posture tightened noticeably when he looked up hesitantly and, with his pupils dilated, looked anxiously for disgust or other feelings of rejection in the young woman's green eyes. What he found in them made him pause briefly in an attempt to control his emotions. " Livia."

With a deep, throaty growl, the vampire pounced on her and dragged the surprised young woman to the ground with him while he pushed his nose into her wavy hair and buried her delicate body under his. The claws rested on her narrow shoulders, while the sharp points made deep indentations into the hard ground.

Livia's delicate fingers moved through the vampire's raven-black hair, stroking gently over his scalp. When Dettlaff looked into the young woman's face, his heart seemed to stand still for a few moments.

A warm smile lay on her lips and was also reflected in her green eyes. "How could I ever be afraid of you?" Her voice was calm and had lost its pressed undertone. "You're still the Dettlaff I know. Your eyes express so much more than words could ever describe, the little curls in your hair and..." she bit her lower lip with an embarrassed smile, "... your pointed ears look insanely good."

With one hand she grasped a larger tuft of the velvety soft hair and clenched it tightly, while the other gently stroked the veined forehead, exploring the unusual texture of his skin. The vampire paused and looked at the young woman beneath him with a vigilant gaze, seemingly trying to internalize every movement of her facial expression. Her cool fingertips continued to run across his temples, tracing the outer curve of the auricle before she paused at the tip and poked it several times with a spellbound look.

Livia literally had to force herself to turn her gaze back to Dettlaff's face. His pupils were still dilated, his mouth slightly open, which made the monstrous fangs stand out more clearly. Meanwhile his upper body pressed irregularly against hers due to his almost panicky breathing. He reacted to her blood. Even for the inexperienced alchemist it was obvious that the vampire was doing his best to hold back from her. In a fluid movement, her hand moved from the tip of his ear to his cheek, which she soothingly enclosed with her little hand. The pronounced cheekbone filled almost her entire palm. "Dettlaff, I trust you."

At that moment Livia thought she could see into the innermost depths of his soul. The mighty being appeared vulnerable at once and seemed to be able to break if she made an impetuous statement. He wished for nothing more than to be accepted and loved by another being.

Dettlaff pressed his lips tightly together, causing a conspicuous grinding of his fangs, before he broke eye contact with her and nestled his head against her upper body, while his body began to tremble. The vampire remained in this position in silence for some time before whispering a soft "Thank you.".

Livia gently stroked his hair, while the sphaera sensum, which had rolled out of her trouser pocket after Dettlaff's stormy embrace, shone next to her at head level in a bright white light.


	20. Arrival

Arrival

Despite the oppressive heat, a pleasant, sweetish scent lay in the Mediterranean house, thanks to various dried herbs, which almost completely covered the smell of fresh sweat of the exhausted couple. Both blankets and pillows lay carelessly crumpled on the floor next to the bed, while the sheets were soaked with sweat. Apart from the distant chirping of the crickets, all that could be heard was the lovers' intermittent breathing. The initially isolated beads of sweat had quickly turned into thick drops, which ran down the rhythmically moving bodies. Exhaling heavily and exhausted, the lanky man let himself fall into bed next to the blonde-haired woman.

"Mireille." He audibly gasped for breath before continuing in a husky voice. "You are a goddess. Your body feels indescribably good."

The woman remained lying on her back with her eyes closed and smiling contentedly while the man, with his slender hand, drove along her feminine curves.

After a while she began to loll under his touch and turned to her partner. "You're not serious, are you? We're both soaked in sweat and already panting like two exhausted, decrepit horses!"

An amused expression appeared in the man's eyes before he drew his beloved to him and kissed her gently on the lips. He ignored the thin film of sweat completely. "I don't care how we huff and puff. As long as I can touch and feel you." He spoke tenderly into the kiss and traced her lower lip with his tongue before he drove down the contours of her neck and covered one of her breasts with countless kisses, while the other was passionately embraced and caressed by his hand. A few drops of sweat were dripping from his black hair and wetting the woman's irregularly rising and falling chest. She sucked the air in sharply as he bit slightly into her sensitive nipple and shortly afterwards sucked on it.

" With Majoran! Give us a break, you love-crazed stud!" Her slightly plump thighs pressed against his sides while her hands ran across his sweaty face. "I would be more pleased if you were as powerful on the field as you are in bed." Theatrically, Mireille rolled her eyes to show her obvious exhaustion. Her cheeks were severely reddened and scattered strands of blond hair stuck to her face. "At least I won't be able to be by your side to take care of you for the next few months, that is, at least for a while."

The person addressed paused and blinked a few times. The distant chirping of crickets, his own heartbeat, the hopeless mess in their house or the field work. All these things seemed to suddenly become irrelevant and far away. His brown eyes gazed into her greens and gazed devotedly at her. "I should give "us" a rest." His voice was little more than a whisper and Mireille nodded shyly. His hand wandered from the soft breast further down to her belly and felt it with the utmost caution, causing the woman to smile softly.

"Soon there will be three of us. Next year you'll be father."

The man began to tremble before isolated tears ran down his cheeks. He lowered his head and cuddled up against her belly, stroking it continuously. "I swear by everything that is holy to me! I will protect you both for the rest of my life. I will always be there for you and watch over you. The mistake of my parents", his gaze darkened for a moment, "I will not repeat it."

Mireille stroked his dark hair, to encouraging him. "You're going to be a great father! Our child will always look up to you and love you. Just like me. Forever."

The young alchemist's expectations had subconsciously risen on a daily basis during her journey with the higher vampire. Together they experienced the strangest adventures in the past weeks, got to know many nice as well as unpleasant personalities and slowly but steadily got closer to each other with small steps. During the last stage of their travel, Livia was extremely impatient and wanted to cover the remaining distance to her destination as quickly as possible, which did not escape her attentive travel companion. A joyful excitement took over her entire body, made her cheeks blush and her green eyes light up. Novigrad! The cosmopolitan city Novigrad was right in front of them and opened its gates just for her!

In the distance the screeching of the seagulls could be heard, which almost vanished due to the constant bustle within the city. Buxom housewives gathered at the docks and washed their weekly rations of laundry, others haggled with full body effort to get the best possible price for the next lunch. An indescribable heat rose from the open windows out of the smithy, while the blacksmith masters beat tirelessly on the glowing metal, causing glaring sparks to fly into the air and extinguish shortly afterwards.

The rough sentries at the gate of the hierarch, watched with mild interest the passing passers-by and tried to suppress an occasional yawn, while the queue of those waiting for permission to enter the city increased when the guards saw the tall black-haired man and his dainty companion, their eyes narrowed for a moment. Without a word they let him and the young woman into the city and threw uncertain glances at each other. Thanks to their many years of experience in the field, they both agreed that this man was not to be trifled with and preferred to look over the newcomer.

When the young woman stopped unexpectedly at the first crossing, the vampire looked at her with a questioning expression. The green eyes of the alchemist carefully probed every visible corner and every person, while her eyebrows narrowed in disbelief and deep lines of thought adorned her forehead. Livia plucked discontentedly at her richly decorated linen dress before she let go of it and nervously chewed on her nail. Dettlaff had now turned completely towards her and was about to cautiously start asking if she disliked something when he was suddenly interrupted by her furious stamping. Viscous brown mud splashed onto his trousers and her beige dress, while her cheeks now showed a very noticeable redness.

"Capital of the world, the center and cradle of culture, my ass!" Furiously, the blonde-haired woman snorted loudly before continuing: "If I ever meet this Dandelion, I'll tell him his books are rubbish! I can't believe that I actually trusted his descriptions! The only thing I notice in this run-down gutter is the poverty, many scantily dressed women and the constant, penetrating stench of old fish!". Defiantly, she bit her lower lip and gazed down the alleyway disappointed with slightly bloated cheeks.

Surprised by the unexpected outburst, the vampire checked his companion. At no time did his bright blue eyes avoid her gaze, while his mouth was slightly open. He bowed his head before questioning, "So you don't like this city?"

Livia's eyes narrowed noticeably: "Of course not! I have a complete book collection by the poet and free spirit Dandelion in my living room, in which the city of Novigrad is praised as a city of the world that has no equal. But when I look at this, every village in Toussaint is in a better state. I wouldn't be surprised if people here still piss on the street instead of going to the toilet. Judging by the stench, only one out of 10 washes themselves." To emphasize her last sentence, Livia turned up her nose with a disgusted look on her face. Dettlaff blinked a few times before the corners of his mouth were barely noticeably curled up into an implied smile. "Well, that makes two of us to feel not comfortable in this place."

Embarrassed, Livia stroked isolated strands of hair behind her ear. Thanks to her almost euphoric expectation to be able to enter Novigrad, she had completely missed out on Dettlaff's tense posture until then. He preferred to live in the seclusion of nature instead of having to squirm through crowds of people. "Perhaps..." her voice had now taken on a softer tone, "let's get used to the new circumstances together and enjoy our time here."

His blue eyes seemed to lose themselves in her emerald green. "Yes."

As they were about to continue their journey to the address given by Regis, Livia noticed a tattered piece of paper on the floor. Curiously, she picked it up and looked at the note written in surprisingly beautiful handwriting.

„_Remember, dear people, that a fire once lit cannot be stopped, that it consumes everything in its path and only ceases to rage once all has been turned to ash. Men cannot flee this element, and if they bow before it, if they let it into their hearts, they too turn to ash. Search then your consciences and live in accordance with the Church's dictates - before the time for penance has passed._

_\- Concerned Citizen_"

Perplexed, she looked up from the parchment and realized that the vampire had as little idea of what to do with the message as she did. With a shrug of her shoulders she threw the sermon of a worried citizen into the mud and focused on following the directions on the map. A quick glance from the side told her that they were in front of the "Chameleon" tavern.

"Strange, according to the map, this is where the "Rosemary and Thyme" should be. I wonder what century the map is from."

Dettlaff could not help but smile. " Regis is foresighted, he wouldn't give us a centuries-old map. Take a closer look at it. There are many buildings on it, and the first impression is that the image corresponds to reality. Humans are short-lived creatures and therefore take a long time to build cities of this size."

Offended, the woman frowned and crossed her arms in front of her chest. "Well, I am satisfied with my expected lifespan, not everyone wants to reach 300." Defiantly, she pushed her tongue out and walked down the alley with a confident, taut posture. However, Dettlaff's clearing his throat made her stop shortly afterwards. "We must go in the opposite direction." An uncomfortable silence prevailed between the two of them before Livia turned around with reddened cheeks and walked past Dettlaff with her head bowed.

He looked at the map again for a short moment and took large steps towards the young woman. His amusement was openly reflected in his eyes and was further strengthened by his deep, teasing voice. "Livia?" " Yes Dettlaff?" "You can't read a map, can you?" The alchemist's cheeks almost seemed to burn, while her gaze remained fixed on the muddy ground.

"So this is it?" In disbelief, Livia stared at the huge house, which was right next to the narrow passage of the Pontar. Dettlaff merely nodded as he pulled a distinctive key from his coat pocket and handed it to Livia. "For the duration of your studies, it's yours."

With a lightning-fast movement she took the key into her possession and unlocked the main entrance door with trembling hands. As she entered the house, the smell of fresh paint and new wooden furniture immediately struck her. Hand-woven carpets with elaborate patterns lay in the entrance area, while detailed pictures of landscape scenes from Velen, framed in wide wooden frames with elaborate carvings, decorated the walls. Various fruit bowls were scattered throughout the room and contained local fruits as well as exotic ones from Toussaint. "The absolute madness! Regis has outdone himself!" Without paying any further attention to the silent vampire, Livia ran up the stairs to the next floor. As she entered the bedroom, her breath was taken.

A colossal wardrobe, of which the carvings had been painted in bright colors, thus giving the piece of furniture a sculptural impression, took up almost the entire length of the room, while a curtain next to it concealed something. But the major part of the room was occupied by a huge four-poster bed that could hardly be beaten in decadence. Masses of ruffles, fabrics and pillows almost filled the bed, which led the young alchemist to the thought of how she herself should fit into the already fully laden bed.

She stopped in front of it, and stroked the high-quality cotton fabrics thoughtfully. The expression in her eyes became warm and a dreamy smile was stealing on her lips. "How can we both fit in this fully packed bed?"

Pensive, she looked out of the window and followed the hustle and bustle of the street lost in thought. The incident in Oreton was now several weeks ago, but she was still unsure about the nature of her relationship with Dettlaff. Although he preferred to clarify and discuss uncertain issues quickly, he did not do so in this context. Some issues remained unspoken until now and Livia felt that Dettlaff was uncomfortable when she tried to talk about that particular day.

Nevertheless there had been some changes between them. Quarrels and misunderstandings continued to exist between them and regularly raised the young woman's pulse, while Dettlaff tried to avoid his impulsive outbursts. His interest in people seemed to have been reawakened, which is why he insisted on asking Livia countless questions about people's feelings and thoughts. Her regular headaches as well as the buzzing, had also suddenly stopped, which was an enormous relief for the young woman. The biggest change, however, was the nightly routine. When she was tired and her eyes were burning, she put her book aside and made herself comfortable on her spread out bed, before Dettlaff lay down with her and gently pressed her body against his and warmed her.

The last thought tore her back to reality. Would the two of them sleep in this bed together or did this circumstance only apply to the journey? Suspiciously, the blonde-haired woman narrowed her eyes. Did Regis know about them thanks to the blood ties to Dettlaff? Had he deliberately put the double bed in this room? Did he perhaps even have immoral ulterior motives? Livia decided to talk to the odd vampire about this matter at the academy as quickly as possible.

Before she left the room, she turned to the mysterious object next to the wardrobe, which was covered by a thick sheet of cloth. What might be hiding behind it? A precious painting as a welcome present? With a strong jerk she pulled the fabric off the object and looked surprised into her reflection.

Amused, she folded the fabric neatly and laid it on a chair before she left the bedroom and descended the stairs to the entrance area. "Dettlaff, you won't believe wha... Are you all right?" The vampire stared menacingly down the stairs to the basement before turning away from them and looking at Livia with questioning eyes. "Have you looked at everything yet?"

"Yes. I like the layout, but Regi's taste in luxurious interiors comes a little... unexpected."

"We should check the food supplies and get what's missing from the market tomorrow."

Hesitantly, the alchemist approached the vampire. "Dettlaff, are you sure you're all right?"

Resigned, the person addressed closed his eyes while he exhaled loudly through his nose. "Yes, I just have to get used to the new surroundings, that's all."

The young woman's posture stiffened and her voice took on an uncertain undertone. "If you want to live outside the city, ... I would understand it. It must be exhausting for you to be surrounded by so many people all the time."

"I appreciate your concern, but I want to stay in this house."

A wave of relief fell upon the young woman before she turned to her rucksack and began to put away her belongings. "Okay, would you help me with the packing? After all, you and I live in this house together now."

Dettlaff flinched noticeably during her last mention, before he approached Livia with a sinister expression.


	21. Of rings, apples and other incidents

Of rings, apples and other incidents

A fresh autumn breeze made Livia's open hair rise almost majestically up into the sky, while her facial expression reflected disgruntled perplexity. The smell of old fish, coming from the docks, was subliminal in the air and made the young woman wrinkle her nose discontentedly, causing isolated small folds to briefly appear on the bridge of her nose. The first merchants had already taken all the necessary precautions for the stand construction and began to advertise their goods with loud voices and excessive movements.

Lost in thoughts, Livia strolled across the market place and let her eyes wander listlessly over the goods on offer. Dettlaff had not come to her the previous night and even this morning he was nowhere to be found. Did he hate this city with its inhabitants so much that he couldn't even stand it in their common abode? Was she completely powerless in this situation and forced to take on the role of a silent observer? The approaches during their journey together suddenly seemed obsolete and relegated to the background. Was that what she wanted? Is that what he wanted? Is that what they wanted? Was there even a they?

With a loud sigh, she puffed the air out of her nose and disinterestedly examined the oversized potatoes. The alchemist blinked a few times before she inspected the shabby wooden box with the huge potatoes more closely. Each of the potatoes on display was bigger than her fist. A side glance at the rest of the assortment made Livia pause.

"Welcome beautiful lady! Here you will find the biggest and most beautiful fruits and vegetables of Novigrad! I give you my word!" Maybe Dandelion hadn't written only untruths in his books. "You're not from here, are you? Please accept this apple as a gift. If you like it, I look forward to doing business with you in the future."

Puzzled by the retailer's both courteous and pushy manner, Livia, with a nod and a restrained "Thank you", accepted the fruit and prepared to disappear into the darkness of the next possible alley as quickly as possible.

"This is not possible." Her words were little more than a whisper as she gazed at the burgundy red fruit with wide-open eyes. Without giving it a second thought, she took a hearty bite of the fruit. As the sweet fruit juice flowed out and moistened her tongue, a pleasurable moaning escaped her, while her closed eyelids visibly relaxed. Leaning her back against a wall of a house overgrown with ivy, the young alchemist stood on the narrow, dirty street surrounded by dilapidated buildings and enjoyed the most exquisite fruit of her life. Scattered drops of the fruit juice ran down her narrow wrist, leaving a shimmering trace, while Livia euphorically devoured the apple in a downright indecent manner. In her mind she decided to buy more apples from this merchant on the way back and to present them to Dettlaff in case he was to be found in their home.

Satisfied, she licked off her fingers while she continued to follow the straight course of the alley. The brief thought of Dettlaff had spoiled her good mood and made her look dejected again. When she wanted to wipe her hands clean on her trousers, she stroked over a well-known object that was in her trouser pocket. The sphera sensum appeared in a grey shade and made Livia frown thoughtfully.

"Young lady! What a beautiful piece of jewellery you hold in your hands! A word! Come here."

Guilty, the addressed person flinched when she realized that a stranger had become aware of the sphere. With the sphere firmly enclosed in her hand she approached the man and noticed that he was a blacksmith. A hulking, sweaty dwarf with small eyes, full beard and lots of dark hair on his exposed, muscular forearms, to be more precise.

"Hey there. You seem to care about your jewelry, don't you?"

Hesitantly, the blond-haired woman nodded, before carefully replying, "Yes. It's very important to me, which is why I always carry it with me."

"Ha!" The dwarf clapped his hands enthusiastically several times and grinned at her with his crooked teeth. "I may not look like it, but I'm a master jeweler and craftsman. No offense, but you are in danger of losing your treasure. Thieves and other scoundrels stroll through the alleys and grab the pockets of passers-by. I could put the sphere in a ring. That way, you could look at it at any time and not have to worry about falling out of your pocket or even getting stolen!"

An unpleasant heat spread to the alchemist's cheeks as she blinked and with a nervous movement pushed isolated strands of hair behind her conspicuously reddened ear. "A ring?" With consternation, she realized already during the pronunciation that her voice pitch was 2 octaves higher than usual. The impish mischief literally shot out of the dwarf's eyes, who immediately noticed that the opportunity for easy money had come. "A ring, of course! Let every man in Novigrad see that you are spoken for!"

Livia's eyes now resembled those of a frightened deer. Her heart was pounding almost painfully against her chest, while she weighed the pros and cons and finally, for lack of counter-arguments, nodded in agreement with the blacksmith. "Okay. A ring."

Reluctantly, she handed the dwarf the sphere. The craftsman went to work immediately and took the measurements of the jewel. For a brief moment, the young woman turned away and looked to the alley she had come from. She could hardly wait to return to the market place and buy a large supply of apples for home. Just the thought of the sweet fruity taste made her mouth water. The dwarf's restrained clearing of his throat made her return to reality with a jerk. Her facial features derailed in confusion as the dwarf proudly held the finished ring out to her.

"Wha...?" Suspiciously she accepted the ring and examined it from all sides. "How can you have completed the ring in such a short time. Besides, you haven't measured any of my fingers. What shall I do if it does not fit?"

"Pfffffffffffffffffffffffffff!" The addressed person waved off with an almost pejorative gesture and obviously had to suppress a loud laughter. Annoyed, Livia furrowed her forehead before she put the jewelry on her left ring finger and was astonished to find that it fitted perfectly. She shook her head in disbelief. "How is this possible? In such a short time and... it fits... Can you perform magic?"

With his fleshy fingers he twirled his fluffy beard while he looked contented. "That, young lady, is called skill. I am glad you have requested my services."

"How much are you getting for this stunning work?"

The dwarf's eyes contracted as he continued to stroke the greasy hair of his beard. "Nothing."

"Eh?" An awkward silence fell between the two of them, and it was only after a while that Livia realized she was looking down at the dwarf with her mouth wide open. "I mean... huh?!" Uncertainly she blinked a few times and looked at the striking ring on her left hand.

"Think of it as a giveaway. We dwarves don't do anything for free. You'll come back to see me, and then the bill will follow."

"Oh... okay." The dwarf's last statement sounded almost like a threat and made the alchemist audibly swallow. "You're sure there's no charge?" " Livia, back off before I change my mind!"

Frightened by the unexpected exclamation, the addressed woman turned away and covered the short distance to the market place as quickly as possible and with big steps. Halfway along the way, however, she paused in her movement and looked around suspiciously at the smithy. Had the blacksmith just mentioned her name? Impossible, she must have misheard. But what was the point of these selfless offers? The same applied to the fruit and vegetable merchant. Was it possible that the inhabitants of Novigrad were indeed as obliging as the books of Dandelion described in detail? Perhaps her first impression did this city injustice and it was indeed a truly glorious metropolis. A cosmopolitan city that has no equal! Curiosity flared up in the alchemist and spurred her on to continue exploring the city. The countless letters from the concerned citizen, which were scattered in almost every street and alleyway, the blonde-haired woman diligently ignored.

With a candied apple in her hand, she stepped hopping onto the forecourt of her house. Livia could not describe it with rational thoughts, but she knew that Dettlaff would be at home waiting for her. Just as she approached the massive entrance door, she paused slightly, panting, looked at the new ring and realized that the sphera sensum had now taken on a bright, light color.

Looking back, a lot had happened since that day in Oreton. Her relationship with Dettlaff could not be described in words, but on top of that, she herself could not estimate the intensity. Physically they didn't get closer to each other except for falling asleep together in the evening and during the day the vampire didn't behave much different than usual. Yet in moments like these she knew she would meet him. A further change also took place with her body. A welcome change, as the alchemist admitted to herself. The painful buzzing in her head had disappeared for the time being. Undecided whether this fact was worth mentioning, she kept it quiet for the time being and wanted to discuss it with Regis at the academy.

With narrowed eyes, her gaze wandered from the ring to her bust. Was she wrong or did the short-sleeved linen shirt treacherously stretch in the upper part of her body? She glanced around briefly to make sure no one could see what followed and grabbed her soft breast with her free hand. "It must be the fresh city air!"

With an overjoyed smile she stepped inside and immediately spotted the vampire at the dinner table. "Dettlaff! Look what I brought you!" Surprised, the vampire looked at the candied apple, which Livia presented to him with the sweetest smile. "You will love it! Taste it for yourself!"

Livia stared at Dettlaff, who closed his eyes and opened his mouth slightly with an implied smile. Her heart stopped for a few beats when she understood what he was getting at. Shyly, she approached the man. Dettlaff must have liked her gesture with the sugar doll in Oreton, but was it right to repeat it? The sharp tips of his teeth gleamed almost seductively and nipped in the bud any thought of pressing the apple into Dettlaff's large hand.

She moved even closer to him and her gaze continued to rest rigidly on the prominent part of his mouth as a choked scream emanated from her. Dettlaff easily enclosed her narrow wrist and bridged the last distance to the apple. As he bit the sweet flesh with relish, he looked up at Livia and pierced her with his ice-blue eyes, causing her cheeks to burn. Unable to react to Dettlaff's behavior in any way, she stared down at him with her mouth slightly open, which seemed to amuse her counterpart. His soft, deep voice broke the silence like lightning and caused the young woman pleasant goose bumps all over her body. "We should share this apple, don't you think Livia?" Before she could reply, he changed the angle of her hand and licked the melted sugar from her soft skin with the tip of his tongue, almost agonizingly slowly, never interrupting the eye contact. The affected area of her skin felt scorching hot, with Dettlaff's breathing further intensifying the effect and causing her neck hair to stand up.

Time seemed to have stood still and the moment consisted solely of her and Dettlaff, who continued to pattern her intensely with his light blue eyes. He too seemed to lose himself in her emerald green eyes and paused briefly in his movement. When her legs seemed to give out, the vampire pulled the petite woman onto his lap at an unexpected speed, while he continued to grasp her waist with one hand and her wrist with the other.

The alchemist's body seemed petrified as it dawned on her what an intimate position they were in, and she wanted to end this mishap as quickly as possible by beginning to coil herself off him.

"Not yet!" Dettlaff's second arm now also embraced her waist and pressed her body closer to his, while he pressed his head against her irregularly rising and falling chest. But before she could respond, the vampire continued in a trembling voice, "Please, accept me." His fingers pierced her sides almost painfully.

The previous closer physical contact with men disgusted Livia to her very core, but the closeness of this man made her forget all the past events. She was almost ashamed of the frivolous thought that she liked being desired in this way by a being. Reminding herself to calm down, she closed her eyes and ran her trembling fingers of her free hand through his raven-black hair. The individual strands of hair felt silky soft as she traced the contours of the curls at a slow pace, picking up the familiar scent of tonka beans with each breath.

"Dettlaff." She paused in her movement and noticed that the vampire's posture was stiffening even more. Gently, Livia bent down to his ear and whispered in a slightly frail voice, "I accept you."

The alchemist heard her steady heartbeat roar relentlessly in her ears as the vampire detached himself from her and looked up at her with a searching expression. His arms pressed even harder against her body so that Livia believed she was almost one with the vampire.

Cool soft lips nestled against hers barely noticeably and waited hesitantly for a response. Overwhelmed by the feeling of unity, Livia did not dare to move at first, before she tenderly returned the kiss. Eyes dreamily closed, Livia surrendered to the new unknown emotions, which caused endless butterflies in her stomach. Dettlaff's touches were extremely reserved and yet decisive at the same time. One of his large hands ran into her wavy, open hair, while his pointed nails gently stroked her scalp and let her exhale comfortably. A soft impact on the well-kept floorboard revealed that the young woman had completely forgotten and dropped the candied apple.

As she carefully separated herself from the kiss, she looked into a pair of light blue eyes, which almost looked adoringly at her. "Dettlaff..." His hands moved to her bottom, lifted her up with almost frightening ease and set her down on the edge of the table. Shortly after that they stroked unerringly upwards and gently embraced her face before Dettlaff started a deep kiss. Without thinking, her arms wrapped themselves around his neck and pressed him closer to her to intensify the kiss. In Oreton, she had already accidentally touched his lips with her finger, but in this kiss they felt much softer and more inviting. The mixture of sweet apple on his lips and the exotic smell of tonka beans that seemed to envelop her were clouding her mind.

Livia emitted a surprised moan as the vampire's tongue explored her lower lip, leaving a pleasant coolness as one of his hands slowly slid down and possessively embraced her breast.

The young woman sucked in the air and suddenly interrupted the kiss. "Dettlaff! That's too much..."

"You said that you accept me." Lurking like a predator, the vampire's gaze lingered on her as he waited for the Alchemist to respond. She blinked briefly several times and was about to give a defensive response when Dettlaff's hand descended from her chest to her lower body and stopped just above her intimate area. "Why do you lie to yourself. Livia, i can smell and feel your lust."

Livia looked with horror into the eyes of the vampire and groaned loudly as she pressed her abdomen against his hand. "Dettlaff!" Her breath came out intermittently. "Stop trying to control my emotions."

Smiling, the black-haired man bare his threatening fangs before he continued in a played innocent tone of voice: "I had already explained to you that I can only intensify your feelings a little. Is it wrong to feel physical pleasure for your partner?"

Livia closed her eyes and tried to regain control of her mind before doing something she would regret in hindsight. "No... is it ni..., ah!" Dettlaff bit tenderly through the thin linen fabric of her blouse and touched the sensitive skin of her breast with his pointed fangs. Gasping, Livia now supported herself with her hands on the table to keep her balance when Dettlaff's hands cut through the disturbing fabric with a skillful movement. Exposed to Dettlaff, the young woman thought she had to disappear somewhere else out of shame, while the sudden cold on her skin made the already existing goose bumps even worse. The thought of vanishing was suddenly interrupted, when she felt the now familiar cool lips on one of her nipples and her abdomen contracted in treacherous and joyful excitement. To suppress another moan, she bit her own finger. Her defensive behavior, moreover, seemed to only encourage the vampire to go further. He encircled her nipple with the tip of his tongue, which contracted irritably, only to finally suck on it and bite tenderly. He grasped the other breast with his hand and stroked the erected nipple with his thumb.

The overwhelming stimulus satiation was too much for the young woman. She moaned almost pleadingly and let herself fall backwards onto the table while her hair curled around her. "Dettlaff!" A deep growl escaped him before he continued to move his tongue down her body and caress her navel with occasional kisses.

His fingers wandered along her thighs before stopping for a moment just before her intimate area. Livia still had her pants on, but the feeling of being touched by Dettlaff was overwhelming.

Begging and with eyes twisted with lust, she threw her head back as his fingers stroked over her center of desire. The vampire's iris turned white and his voice had now taken on an eerie and bestial undertone. "You accept me, Livia, am I right?"

Uncertain about the unexpected change in the atmosphere, Livia opened her eyes and saw a monstrosity in front of her, which seemed to emanate directly from a nightmare. Saliva dripped from the beast's mouth and wet her breasts as the eyeless face slowly approached her. Countless extremities emanated from the beast's torso and occupied the entire room. Huge fangs gleamed from the monster's smile as it slowly but steadily approached Livia. He wanted to kiss her and pick up where Dettlaff had left off shortly before. Livia wanted to scream, but the fear of death closed her throat and so she had no choice but to cry with eyes wide open in terror.

"Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!" With a panicky outcry, Livia sat up in her imposing canopy bed and gasped for breath. The room was spinning around her and she felt sick, but there was no time to recover. She heard the frantic cries of a child's voice in the background and reluctantly turned in the supposed direction from which the shouts were coming.

Dettlaff had taken on his vampiric form and with his paw pressed a child who was beating around the floor, while the sharp tips of his claws left striking notches in the wooden floor.

"Dettlaff!"


	22. All colors will agree in the dark

All colors will agree in the dark

Petite fingers grasped the cool leather fabric on the trembling upper arm of the visibly agitated vampire and tried to tear him away from the screaming, struggling child. "Dettlaff! Stop it immediately! Can't you see it's just a little child?!" Still drunk from sleep, Livia's exclamation did not have the intended effect and went down next to the panicky cries of the child.

The person addressed bared his teeth and snarled at Livia like a wild animal, while he freed himself from her grip with a flowing movement. The young woman's heart stopped for a moment at this bestial sight, while she, with her eyes wide open, was unable to avert her gaze from Dettlaff. The frightened reaction of the young alchemist, however, made the vampire pause for a moment, which did not escape the supposed victim. With surprising speed, the child bit Dettlaff's forearm, wriggled out of its iron grip and ran head over heels from the room down the creaky stairs to the ground floor.

As Dettlaff tried to stand up, Livia reached for his upper arm again and tried to suppress her fear of him. The trembling of her body nevertheless revealed her anxiety, while already isolated clouds of red smoke surrounded the vampire. "Dettlaff, I beg you! What is going on here?" His white-transformed eyes rested on her while he had visible problems controlling his anger. "You were attacked in your sleep and now you're letting this creature escape!"

Confusion and perplexity spread across the alchemist's face as thoughtful wrinkles spread across her forehead. "It was only a child." "Not human." Before Livia could reply, a bright, girlish voice emerged from the lower floor, loudly expressing her anger. "What a bully! I'll get him for this! Let him come near me once more, then I'll clip his hairless wings! He is allowed to live in my house for free and behaves like a drowner who has gone wild!

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh! He shall get a thousand furuncles on his white ass and never get rid of them! Just you wait!..." The malicious curses went on incessantly while Livia continued to look at Dettlaff in a bewildered way. A deep growl escaped him while he, almost roughly, with his clawed hand, pushed Livia's narrow shoulder to the side. "I'll be right back."

"No, you won't! I'm going!" The almost overwhelming aura of anger that surrounded the vampire intensified even more and seemed to become tangible. But before he got the chance to turn it against Livia, she struck his claw from her shoulder and ran out of the room. The blonde-haired woman heard Dettlaff's enraged outcry behind her as she hurried down the stairs, already taking two steps at a time. She did not have to search long for the uninvited intruder. The little girl's curses had not let up and if Livia hadn't been afraid that at any moment an angry higher vampire would tear her house to pieces, she would have had to smile at one statement or another.

"... trim his claws so that he can no longer scratch his ass satisfactorily when it itches there! After all, not everyone can do it like..." Livia liked the bright voice, and as she approached, she raised her arms in a calming manner. "Hey, I'm sorry that Dettlaff grabbed you so roughly. But...," the alchemist was now standing directly behind the little child, crouched down and continued in as gentle a tone as possible, "perhaps you would tell me what you were looking for in our house?"

Livia heard the child panting loudly, theatrically, before she turned to her. Huge saucer eyes, which seemed to consist almost entirely of a black iris, an unhealthy looking pale skin colour, the face wrinkled in stark contrast to the child's body, only an old sheet as a dress and a wreath of leaves with a daisy rounded off the unexpected sight that the alchemist was presented with. It was at this moment that it dawned on Livia, whom Dettlaff had already mentioned in advance that she was not a human child, and regretted her rash action.

The little creature tilted her head slightly and looked at Livia full of curiosity. "Dettlaff? Is that the name of this uncouth bat?" Still overwhelmed by the whole situation, Livia merely nodded and continued to stare at the creature in front of her with eyes wide open. The unrestricted attention seemed to please the little girl. Satisfied, she crossed her arms in front of her chest and stretched her chin forward. "Do you like my appearance? I have dressed up properly for our first meeting. I had to search for the daisy for an incredibly long time. Novigrad isn't very suitable if you are looking for pretty flowers. You can believe me on that. The merchants' carts break up the ground so that hardly anything can sprout. But a little further out I finally found what I was looking for. Oh! This is really an exciting story, would you like to hear it? Because I came across a group of drowners at the river! I was scared, believe me. Those big bubble eyes approached me and thought that they would have an easy time with me, but I was a real pushover. Because I...", the creature made a dramatic pause and underlined this with an excessive hand movement, "can... run super fast!" At the end she jumped up and looked at her conversation partner expectantly.

When Livia noticed that it was now her turn to answer, she blinked a few times before hesitantly starting. "Oh... Wow... you're really... brave?" To support Livia's statement, which was more questioning than ascertaining, the creature nodded violently. "Yes! Yes! I am!"

"And um... what's your name? "

"I'm Sarah, and I live here in this house." Inwardly, Livia writhed because of this messed up situation. One question being answered, there' s more inconsistencies. As far as her mind allowed, the young alchemist wanted to proceed systematically to shed light on the situation. She also wondered inwardly what Dettlaff was doing in the meantime. Did he remain in the bedroom full of rage at ..., yes, what was it? He thought she was being attacked, but even this circumstance was beyond her imagination.

"Nice to meet you. My name is Livia." Sarah's eyes seemed to glow. "Livia! What a beautiful name! Shall we be friends? I always wanted to live with others. " Carefully, without dampening Sarah's euphoria, Livia picked up. "I think you already know that I'm human and Dettlaff is a vampire. But what kind of being are you? I must confess, I've never seen anything like you before."

Sarah brushed off with an impatient hand movement and did not let Livia out of her sight. "I am a godling. Do you have something on your ears Livia? Do we wanna be friends or not?" Livia stared in bewilderment at the cheeky godling, who was visibly agitated and waiting for an answer from the alchemist.

"I think we can do something about that, but..." Before the blonde-haired woman could finish her sentence, Sarah jumped joyfully through the living room and threw one or two books from the shelves. "Thank you! I've always wanted a friend! What do we want to do today? Shall we explore Novigrad together?"

Defensively the young woman raised her hands and shook her head. "How do you know Dettlaff is a vampire and what exactly happened between you two in the bedroom?"

Sarah picked her nose and, after looking briefly at the affected finger, wiped it off her clothing. "Well, as I said before, I am a godling. We have the powerful ability to see the true nature of any mortal being with our inner eye. Another unbeatable characteristic of us is that we can also influence the dreams of others. I can draw your most ardent desires or even your greatest fears from your subconscious and make them seemingly real in your dreams. And I think that I am quite good at it! You should have seen your red posterior! But just before the climax came Borelaff and had to ruin everything!"

Livia recalled the dream in her mind and noticed a budding heat on her face. Embarrassed, she cleared her throat before answering in a trembling voice. "It's called cheek, not posterior, and I'm not entirely sure if you're really a master in this skill. Let's generously disregard the beginning of the dream, but what was that about the end? This hideous monster, which had suddenly taken Dettlaff's position and...", the young woman's voice failed and icy cold came over her. Was she wrong or had she not seen this creature before? The creaking of the floorboards made her flinch. As she turned to the sound, the surprised expression of the godling escaped her notice, which shortly afterwards changed into an amused grin.

The vampire's features were now human again, but the depths of his blue eyes were seething with unbridled anger. His hands clenched into fists, so that his nails cut into the white flesh of his palm, while his jaws seemed to burst with tension. In stark contrast to his extreme body language, the vampire's voice was surprisingly calm and restrained. " Enough. Livia, stay away from this creature."

His gaze glided towards the surprised godling. "I will grant you this one chance. Leave here and never show your face again, and I will spare your life."

Sarah blinked confusedly several times before stamping her foot furiously. "YOU want to threaten ME in MY house? YOU should be grateful to me for letting you live here! YOU call the dream I spun for Livia an attack? And in this dream YOU even had the leading role! A confident smile lay on the godling's lips, while Dettlaff exhaled loudly from his nose. "Livia found the part with you extremely pleasant, but unfortunately a disgusting hairless monstrosity with huge wings had to squeeze in and ruin all the fun." With pursed lips and an innocent expression in her eyes, Sarah looked at Dettlaff.

Livia recognised the urgency of the situation and cleared her throat loudly before Dettlaff could start destroying everything and everyone in his immediate vicinity like a berserker. "Well, now that this is your house and we are allowed to live here, perhaps it would be best if you showed us all the rooms and explained where we can put our belongings. I would also be happy to get to know you better." To push the absurdity of this situation even further, Livia clapped twice with feigned enthusiasm before turning to one of her pieces of luggage.

"Livia! This decision is..." "A lot better than the bat shit that this rude booby is spouting. Follow me! I'll show you around."

The tour of the house took place without the vampire, who remained in the entrance area, leaning silently against the banister. This house, no, the whole situation was a farce and would end sooner or later.

In the meantime Sarah was in the bedroom with Livia and told the alchemist some of her most exciting stories. Among other things, the godling came to talk about the white wolf, who had also visited this house. Thanks to her powerful abilities, however, she was able to put the wolf to flight. "With shaking knees, he ran away head over heels, you can believe me and if I am not mistaken, his hair has also become a bit whiter. You see," the narrator took a dramatic pause for effect, "I am extremely powerful."

A furtive smile lay on the alchemist's narrow lips. She crouched down in front of Sarah and looked into her big eyes, which contained an expression of childlike openness. "You know, when I listen to all your stories like this, I can't help but think you are a sweet little girl who can still be very cheeky from time to time. Few would dare to challenge a vampire, let alone approach one. I'm not sure whether your approach to Dettlaff is brave or rather imprudent."

"Well," Sarah stuck her head up against Livia's, "That makes two of us, don't you think?" A few seconds went by in which the two of them cast conspiratorial glances at each other.

Sarah pointed to a richly decorated wooden box lying on the chest of drawers and looked at Livia with a questioningly expression. "Do you have a treasure hidden in it?"

Full of enthusiasm Livia jumped up and approached the box. With a sweeping movement she picked it up and turned to Sarah again. "Well, I could show you the treasure, of course, but..." Sarah's childlike curiosity was aroused. "But?" "No more dreams of fatigue and strange monstrosities."

Was the young alchemist mistaken, or did the godling really seem to be sulking? After a while Sarah sighed with resignation. "Okay." The mischief flashed in her eyes before she continued. "Then you'll just have big breasts, while the traders will be drooling and longing to be allowed to touch them." Unconsciously, Livia pressed the cassette more firmly against her upper body. "Sarah!"

"I got it. In future, I will not interfere with your dreams, EXCEPT if you ask me to." With narrowed eyes, the alchemist examined the godling before putting the box on the floor. Sarah sat down opposite her on the floorboards and never let the box out of her sight. "Here is my greatest treasure! Look at it."

When Sarah saw the Gwentcards, she gave a loud cry of joy. "I love card games, but unfortunately I only know this from hearsay. Would you teach me?" Livia was on fire and seemed to have completely forgotten the turbulent morning, including an angry vampire. Sarah's gaze paused briefly during Livia's voluptuous explanations before a confident smile formed on her lips.

Soft candlelight lit up the rooms and created a pleasant ambience, while the regular rustling of paper sounded. Occasional giggles broke through the otherwise monotonous soundscape, closely followed by a barely perceptible creaking of the huge bed. "This is insanely boring! You are more occupied with reading than with working on the caldron. Mandrake roots here, some blood there, no wonder this old vampire likes it, but you could do much more exciting things! We could go fishing!"

Livia laughed out loud and gently pushed Sarah off her back so that she was now lying in bed next to her. "Did you surprise Regis as much as you surprised us?"

"No. He noticed me immediately and greeted me very politely." Sarah moved her face closer to Livia and continued talking in a conspiratorial voice. "He bowed to me and asked me if I would agree to have you and Dettlaff as my new roommates! Until now I thought vampires were stupid creatures, but Regis is so... nice!"

The young alchemist could no longer pull herself together and sputtered with reddened cheeks. " "Nice" would not have been the term I would have chosen for Regis, but yes, I know what you're getting at. Dettlaff is practically the exact opposite of him."

Sarah stopped briefly and after a few moments grinned even wider. "Oh, you know, I think Dettlaff and I can still become very good friends." Surprised by this statement, Livia looked at the godling before she closed the huge tome in front of her and got up from bed. She carefully pushed it back into the tastefully decorated bookshelf and peeled off her linen dress. Her underwear landed carelessly in the corner of the room as she paused briefly and looked around the room in search. "You know Sarah, we've only known each other for a day, but I'm glad I met you here. Alchemy may seem boring to you at first, but maybe I will manage to convince you of its beauty. It is an indescribable feeling when you can help others with your abilities. Have you seen my nightgown here anywhere, Sarah?"

The godling had also left the bed and wandered aimlessly through the bedroom. "Oh, this with the abilities I believe you. Helping others is my speciality, you know? You can thank me later."

"What do you mean ...", the alchemist turned to Sarah with a confused expression and could see that she was on the other side of the room and was triumphantly circling the nightdress over her head before it landed on the floor. At the same time, Livia noticed from the corners of her eyes that red smoke was gathering in the doorway and the doorknob was being slowly pushed down. She was horrified when she realised that she was standing in the room completely naked and had no place to hide.

Sarah disappeared silently and a short time later, the bedroom was in total darkness. Behind her, the alchemist heard an amused "You're welcome." before the room became completely silent. Livia thought she could see the outline of Dettlaff in the doorway before she spoke. "Wait! I have everything under control. Just give me a short moment and...", while she spoke, the petite woman walked carefully through the room, hands outstretched wide to look for objects that might help her find her way.

Livia thought she had almost reached the bed when she caught her foot on the small bump and went down with a muffled sound. Moaning, she turned on the floor in pain and was at odds with herself as to whether or not she should be grateful to Sarah for her "help". "Livia." Dettlaff wanted to approach her, but paused instantly when Livia raised her arm with a vehement movement. "No! Not one step closer! I have everything under control. I just slipped, that's all, honestly! Stay where you are, don't let anything else happen to you!" Crawling on all fours, she continued on her way until she could feel the familiar fabric of her nightdress under the palm of her hand with irrepressible relief.

Quickly she pulled it over her head before continuing her way to the candle, when a small cool hand touched her shoulder. "I'll take it from here." Shortly afterwards the bedroom was immersed in warm light again. Because of the abrupt difference in brightness, Livia squinted her eyes for a brief moment before opening them again and gazing confusedly at the doorway. "Wasn't Dettlaff just here a moment ago?"

Sarah merely shrugged and pointed to the bed. "Can I sleep in your bed tonight?" The woman was chewing indecisively on her lower lip. "You could tell me some great Gwent strategies."

The cool light of the moon shrouded the buildings of Novigrad in a ghostly veil, while in the narrow alleys an all-consuming darkness reigned. Scarcely clothed women stood at the entrances to these side streets and, with sweet words and inviting gestures, managed to convince the male passers-by of their charms and led them into the womb of darkness from which the animal sounds of lust emerged. Novigrad, the metropolis, invites you to a nocturnal, adventurous ride, the outcome of which is always uncertain. Only the gentle morning rays can reveal what the all-consuming darkness had hidden.

Livia snuggled up in the soft down bedding and let the day run out again before her mind's eye, hoping fervently that tomorrow she would have the opportunity to talk to Dettlaff alone about the new circumstances. Sarah lay restlessly beside her and giggled muffledly at regular intervals before turning to the young alchemist.

"Livia?"

Still lost in thought, the addressed person answered half-heartedly with a "Hm?". Again the excited giggling filled the room before the godling continued. "You do know that vampires can see everything in the dark?"


End file.
